The Power of One
by RFK
Summary: A sorceress develops an interest in Wyatt's powers and becomes his new nanny. Set three weeks after "An Afternoon in Babysitting". AU S6. CONCLUSION POSTED!
1. Part I

TITLE: THE POWER OF ONE AUTHOR: RFK SERIES: CHA RATING: PG-13 Adult language and mild violence.  
SUMMARY: A Vodoun sorceress develops an interest in Wyatt's powers and becomes his new nanny. Set three weeks after "An Afternoon in Babysitting". AU S6.  
FEEDBACK: - Be my guest. But please, be kind.  
DISCLAIMER: The Charmed Ones, Leo Wyatt, Wyatt Halliwell and Cole Turner belong to Constance Burge, Brad Kern and Spelling Productions. The McNeills, Cecile Dubois and Andre Morrell, are thankfully, my creations. 

"THE POWER OF ONE" by RFK

PART I

Piper Halliwell examined last month's profit sheet one last time and shook her head in despair. "Oh my God! I can't believe this! I just can't . . ."

"What's wrong?" Paige asked. The Charmed Ones sat inside the manor's Solarium, as they watched television. Actually, Paige and Phoebe watched TV, while Piper focused her attention upon her nightclub's profit sheets.

Heaving a sigh, Piper continued, "Last month's profits for P3. They're . . . Oh my God! Has it really gotten this bad?"

Phoebe glanced away from the TV screen and frowned. "Profits are down?" She continued to gently rock Wyatt, who was fast asleep in her arms.

"That's the understatement of the year," Piper muttered. "They've been down before. But not like this. By at least twenty-five to thirty percent. I guess I've just been too busy with Wyatt."

The middle Charmed One continued to rock her nephew. "So, what are you going to do about it?"

Her eyes still glued to P3's account book, Piper answered, "Well, I'm going to fire Everett for starters. He had really let things slide. What in the hell had he been doing . . .?" She broke off with a sigh. "Looks like I'll have to fix this. At least until I can get a new manager."

"And Paige and I will take care of Wyatt, while you deal with P3," Phoebe added, before planting a light kiss on the baby's forehead.

One of Piper's brows formed a dubious arch. "During the daytime, as well? While you two are working? And what about when you two are out on dates?"

"Get Leo to baby sit," Paige declared. "I'm sure that he won't mind."

The mention of her soon-to-be former husband brought a grimace on Piper's lips. "Well that sounds great. I'm sure that Leo had abandoned his family, so that he could baby sit Wyatt, in between Council meetings."

Paige shrugged her shoulders. "I'm sure that Leo won't be stuck in Council meetings forever. On the other hand, you can always consider hiring a new nanny or au pair for Wyatt. Didn't you once consider hiring one before he was born?"

Piper stared thoughtfully at her youngest sister. "You know, that's not a bad idea. Except . . . how do we find someone willing or capable of dealing with a magically powerful baby? Or deal with demons or warlocks like those two who had tried to snatch Wyatt a few days ago? I'd consider rehiring that Elf Nanny, but you saw how she had reacted, after the last attack." Two warlocks had recently appeared at the manor, disguised as employees from the city's Publics Works Department, and tried to kidnap Wyatt. Without any help from the Charmed Ones, Piper's infant son managed to stop the warlocks all on his own. 

"Try placing an ad at some local occult shop," Paige suggested. "I'm sure that Barbara might know which shops you can place an ad. Or maybe Chris or Leo can ask around in the Whitelighter Realm. Or, you can place an ad in one of the local Wiccan newsletters or newspapers."

Impressed and a little surprised by her sister's suggestions, Piper stared at Paige. "Wow! You sure got it all figured out, don't you?"

"Just remembering some ideas I had the last time you thought about hiring a nanny." Paige's gaze returned to the TV screen. "Oh. By the way guys, don't forget that we've been invited to dinner at the McNeills, one week from tonight."

Phoebe frowned. "Why?"

"Cecile and Andre are coming to San Francisco," the youngest Charmed One continued. "They'll be here for at least a week or two."

Now, it was Piper's turn to frown. "Who?"

"Hel-lo? Cecile Dubois? Olivia's friend? And her boyfriend, Andre Morrell? Who's also Cole's friend? Remember them?"

"Oh. Yeah." Now Piper remembered. Olivia and Cole's Vodoun friends. To be honest, she had forgotten about the dinner invitation. Concern over P3's profits have occupied Piper's mind during the past several days. And now, she has a new nanny for Wyatt to think about. Speaking of a new nanny . . . "Uh Paige, could you do me a favor and ask both Barbara, Olivia or Harry about where I can place an ad for a nanny?"

Paige reassured the older woman that she would do as the latter asked. Satisfied, Piper returned her attention to P3's account book.

---------- 

Located near the northwest corner of Fredrick and Cole, the Red Pyramid was a popular coffeehouse that has also served as an occult shop for past 30 years. Not only did students of the occult frequent the place, but it also counted many of the city's magic practitioners as regular customers. One of the Red Pyramid's regular customers happened to be a Vodoun sorceress named Daley Baker.

A native of nearby Oakland, Daley's family had emigrated from Alabama to California, back in the mid-1930s, to seek financial security during the Depression. At the age of seventeen, Daley discovered that she possessed a psychic ability - namely, thermo kinesis. And even more importantly, for sorcerery. Her grandmother had suggested that she study under an old Vodoun priestess from Baton Rouge, which she did for two years. Although Daley's skills in magic eventually developed, the spiritual aspect of Vodoun eluded her. Quite frankly, she never had the desire to use her skills to help others. Only herself.

On one particular afternoon in early November, Daley dropped by the Red Pyramid to purchase some figure candles for her altar and gris-gris bags. She had tried the Botanica Yoruba on Valencia, but that particular shop did not have what she needed. While searching for her items, she overheard two voices from the other side of the one of the store's shelves.

". . . is dead," a female's voice said. "Can you believe it? Killed by a child."

Her ears perked with curiosity, Daley held her breath. The woman's companion replied, "Well, what did you expect? The boy is a child of one of the Charmed Ones."

The Charmed what? Confused, Daley shook her head. What the hell was a Charmed One?

The woman exclaimed in a soft hiss, "A child of one of the Charmed Ones? You mean the Halliwells? The witches who had vanquished the Source and God know how many other demons and warlocks? You mean to say . . .?"

"Yes!" the man retorted in exasperation. "I'm saying that the baby is a child of the oldest Charmed One, and her whitelighter. Well, former whitelighter. No one knows what happened to him. As for the child, I hear that he's extremely powerful. Probably the most powerful magical entity around."

Daley's brows rose several millimeters toward her hairline. Hmm, how very interesting.

The man continued, "Which is why Sidney and Dominick didn't have a chance, when they tried to snatch him."

"Because of this child?" the woman demanded.

"They wanted the baby's powers. Who wouldn't?"

The woman replied, "Not me." Daley found her answer hard to believe.

Apparently, so did the woman's companion. "Oh please! Are you serious? You mean to say that you would pass up the chance to acquire all of that power?"

"Yes," the woman replied. "I'm saying . . . yes, I would. Look Michael, I'm very satisfied with what I am right now. I don't need the extra powers. Nor do I want it or have to deal with everyone else trying to steal them from me. Personally, I think that Dominick and Sidney were fools to go after that child. They would still be alive if they hadn't."

The man conceded, "You've got a point. Still . . . could you imagine yourself with all of that power? Frankly, I rather like the idea."

So would I, Daley silently added. Maybe she should contact Marc Beaudine from Oakland . . . and hire him to search for more information on these Charmed Ones. And the baby.

------------

The two men and the woman materialized in the middle of Cole's penthouse. "Here we are," the half-demon declared. "Home sweet home." He had just teleported Cecile Dubois and Andre Morell from the former's New Orleans house. "At least, while you're here in town."

Cecile glanced around. "Both of us are staying here?"

"No. You'll be staying at Olivia's apartment, as usual. In fact," Cole glanced at his wristwatch, "she should be home in another twenty minutes or so."

The Vodoun priestess said in a voice that struck Cole as slightly cool, "Could you send me there, anyway? I'm sure that Livy won't mind."

Andre stared at his girlfriend. "What's the big hurry? Frankly, I could use a drink, after all that traveling."

"Traveling that took us a few seconds," Cecile retorted. "Besides, I want to get unpacked. Get everything ready for tomorrow's presentation." Her dark eyes penetrated Cole's. "Do you mind?"

With a shrug, the half-demon waved his hand and sent the priestess and her luggage to Olivia's apartment. Once Cecile had disappeared, he frowned at Andre. "Is there something wrong with Cecile? She seemed a little . . . I don't know . . . withdrawn."

"I think she's worried about the presentation," Andre replied, as he sat down in a nearby chair. "Ever since she had approached Olivia's dad about selling her new computer software program to his company, she's been . . . well, a little on edge. Anxious."

Cole went over to the liquor cabinet to prepare a drink for himself and Andre. "Anxious? Hmmm, she seemed more . . . distant to me. Cold. Not anxious."

"Well, she's been pretty moody lately. Ever since she began this little project." Cole handed Andre a glass of whiskey and soda. "Thanks."

The half-demon poured himself a glass of bourbon. "I know why Cecile is here - considering I'll be acting as her legal representative. But what about you? What are you doing here?"

"Didn't Olivia tell you?" Andre asked. "It's about her new shop. The one that used to be owned by that guy who ended up killed. She wants me to do a little appraising for her."

Taking a sip of bourbon, Cole replied, "But Olivia already had that shop appraised. Before it officially became hers."

A knowing smile appeared on Andre's lips. "I'm talking about certain . . . items in the shop. Of the supernatural variety. It seemed this Stefan Kostopulos or Whatever, was quite the collector. You mean to say that Olivia didn't tell you all of this?"

Cole sighed. "She probably did. But I've been so busy lately with Cecile . . . becoming her new attorney and helping her set up this deal with Jack McNeill that I must have forgotten." As he took another sip of bourbon, he noticed Andre staring at something. "What is it?" he asked.

"What's that?" Andre pointed at a small, folded newspaper on the coffee table.

Cole replied, "Some newspaper or newsletter for local Wiccans. Olivia must have left it."

Andre placed his drink on the coffee table and snatched up the newspaper. "Hmmm. A friend of mine operates a newsletter at home for Vodoun practioners. But this seems more like a newspaper. The LUNAR VOICE." He opened the paper and read. "Not bad, he said before turning to another page. "It even has want ads and job positions. I've got to tell Marcel about all . . ." Andre broke off, as his eyes narrowed into slits. "What the hell? Say, what's the name of your ex-wife? Piper or something, right?"

Cole stared at his friend. "It's Phoebe. Why do you . . .?"

"And isn't her last name - Halliwell?"

"Yeah." Cole paused for a brief moment. "Why?"

Andre tossed the newspaper to the half-demon. "Check out page eight. Someone named P. Halliwell, at 415-306-1468, had placed an ad for a nanny.

It was not hard for Cole to find the advertisement. He reeled in shock, as he read the following:

"WANTED -  
Nanny for nine month-old baby Salary $8.00/hour Contact P. Halliwell 415-306-1468"

"What the hell is the matter with her?" Cole exclaimed. "Is she crazy?"

Andre frowned. "Which sister are you talking about?"

"Piper! Phoebe's older sister. You know, the one who can freeze time." Cole stared at the advertisement. "What the hell is she doing, getting a nanny for Wyatt? That kid is too powerful to be placed in the hands of some stranger. Hell, I'll bet that Leo would agree with me."

A sly smile appeared on Andre's face. "Maybe. Of course, she could always get you to baby sit Wyatt, again." Cole stared at him. "Olivia told me and Cecile about your little babysitting job, last month."

Cole groaned. "Oh God! Thanks for reminding me! Between Wyatt's crying, eating my shirt and stealing other people's stuff, I had one hell of a time dealing with that kid! And Piper expects some stranger to handle him?" He shook his head in disbelief. "What the hell is that woman thinking?"

END OF PART I 


	2. Part II

"THE POWER OF ONE" by RFK

PART II

Later that evening, Olivia, Cole, the two visitors from New Orleans and the Halliwells appeared at the McNeills' house for the dinner party hosted by Jack and Gweneth McNeill. No sooner had the guests arrived, they, along with the McNeills gathered inside the large drawing room and waited for the family manservant to announce dinner.

"I just read the latest copy of THE LUNAR VOICE," Barbara said to Piper. The blond-haired witch, who was married to Olivia's older brother, had joined the redhead, Cecile and Piper near the fireplace. "And I saw an ad placed by a P. Halliwell . . . for the position of nanny. Was that . . . Did you place that ad? Is that the reason why Paige was asking me about local Wiccan newspapers?"

Piper sighed. "Yeah. I . . . I'm trying to find a permanent nanny for Wyatt."

"Why?"

Olivia immediately came to Piper's defense. "Barbara!"

Her sister-in-law assumed an innocent and confused expression. "What? I simply asking Piper about that ad in THE LUNAR VOICE."

"Yeah, and with all the subtlety of a Gestapo interrogator. Is there a problem?"

Barbara let out a gust of breath. "No, there isn't a problem. I'm simply curious, that's all. I mean . . . this is Wyatt we're talking about. He's only nine months old and already he's had more supernatural activity surrounding him than all of us in a period of three years. And I'm just . . . surprised . . . well, you know what I mean!"

"I understand," Piper replied. "That's why Olivia had suggested that I place the ad in 'certain' newspapers and shops in the city."

"Where's Wyatt right now?"

Olivia pointed to where Paige, Phoebe and her grandmother stood. "Over there, in Gran's arms." She said to the other women, "I had also asked Cole's uncle - Marbus - if he knew of anyone who could baby sit Wyatt."

"What about Leo?" Barbara asked.

Piper's face immediately became a cold mask. "What about him?"

"Um . . ." Barbara began. But a quick jab in the side by Olivia cut her short, leaving her to finish lamely, "Never mind. What about that Elf Nanny?"

Piper continued, "Oh, she, uh . . . vowed never to step foot inside the manor, after those two warlocks tried to attack Wyatt. She likes a quiet household. So, I need a new nanny, fast. Like I had told Olivia, I'm having trouble with P3 at the moment. And splitting my time between Wyatt and the club - along with dealing with demons . . . and Leo's absence . . ." The Charmed One sighed. "I don't know. It seems like everything is falling apart."

"In other words, this whole mess started, because Leo decided that being an Elder was a lot more important than his family." The other women stared at Cecile, who had broken her silence. She stared back. "What?"

Frowning, Olivia commented, "Is it just me, or are you sounding a little bitter right now?"

"I'm not being bitter," Cecile protested. "Just telling the truth. If Leo had really loved Piper . . . or if she was that important to him, he would have never become an Elder." 

Piper's eyes cast downward. "I think you might be right," she muttered.

Triumph gleamed in Cecile's dark eyes. "See? You really can't trust a man's love. First, they'll move heaven and earth to possess us. Then sooner or later, they end up taking us for granted. We become background noise to them." The others continued to stare at her. "Well, am I wrong?" Cecile let out a gust of breath, turned on her heels and walked away.

"Wow," Barbara murmured. "What's wrong with her? You don't think that she and Andre are having troubles, do you?"

A new voice added, "She's frustrated. Cecile, I mean." Olivia and the other two women found Phoebe standing behind them. "I could sense Cecile's frustration." Annoyed, Olivia bit back a retort.

Piper, on the other hand, made her displeasure known. "Phoebe! Do you mind?"

Looking slightly affronted, Phoebe protested, "What? Cecile is obviously frustrated about something! Probably Andre." 

Her older sister heaved a sigh. "We all know that you're now an empath, Pheebs, but could you please put a sock in it?"

"I can't help sensing everyone's emotions!" Phoebe retorted. "I don't know how to control this new power. At least not yet."

Olivia tartly added, "But I'm sure that you can control that tongue of yours. Must you broadcast everyone's feelings to the world, every time you sense them?"

A deep silence fell between the four women. Phoebe's face turned pink. "Excuse me," she said in a stiff voice, before walking away.

Feeling slightly remorseful, Olivia apologized to Piper. "Sorry about that. I guess I had lost my temper."

"I'm not," Piper grumbled. "That new power of hers has been driving us crazy. Just over a week ago, Paige had lost her temper and shoved an apple into Phoebe's mouth."

The image of Phoebe's mouth plugged by an apple nearly sent Olivia into a spate of giggles. Nearly. Instead, she kept her mirth to herself and said, "Oh well. At least you can't deny that Phoebe is right about Cecile. She is frustrated."

"Do you think it has to do with Andre?"

Olivia responded silently, with a slight shrug.

----------

The following morning, Andre and Olivia met the latter's grandmother outside of an antiquity shop on Union Square. "There you are," the elderly woman declared. She glanced at her watch. "You're late."

"Only by fifteen minutes," Olivia muttered. She retrieved a key from her purse and used it to unlock the shop's front door. "Here we go. Welcome to . . ." Her face formed a slight frown. "Well, I haven't renamed it, yet." She switched on the lights.

Andre took one sweeping glance around the shop's interior and whistled. 

"My sentiments exactly," old Mrs. McNeill added. "Goddess! I've never seen so many . . . How much is all of this stuff worth, Livy?"

With a sigh, Olivia answered wearily, "You really don't want to know. Fortunately, Alexis Kostopulos wanted to get rid of the shop so badly that I managed to buy it at a cheaper price."

"Why?" Andre asked.

"Well, his father had been murdered by someone looking for a medallion that used to be in this shop. Didn't Cole tell you about the Erebor medallions, and the attack on the Whitelighter Realm?"

The houngan nodded. "Oh yeah." His eyes fell upon a small, sandalwood box with Druidic symbols carved on the sides. "So, where are the . . . um other pieces that you were talking about?" He picked up the box. "Besides this?"

Olivia replied, "The rest of the items are scattered throughout the shop. Mixed with the other items. Hopefully, you and Gran will be able to identify and separate them from the regular items. While I'm at work."

"Hmmm." Mrs. McNeill swept a finger across one of the glass casings. "This looks like a job that might take a week or two."

Andre added, "That's no problem for me. Besides . . ." he paused, wondering if he should allow the two women in his confidence.

"Besides what?" Olivia asked.

The houngan sighed. "This trip should give me plenty of time to find . . . a ring. To buy."

"A ring?" Mrs. McNeill frowned. "What for?"

After a brief hesitation, Andre decided to confess. "Well, I plan to ask Cecile to marry me. I'm looking for an engagement ring."

The two women reacted with delight. "Oh my God!" Olivia cried. "I can't believe it! Finally! After all these years!"

"I'm so happy for you," Mrs. McNeill added. Then she frowned. "But . . . you mean to say you couldn't find a ring in New Orleans?"

Andre sighed. "Yeah, I did look around for one. But I couldn't find one that satisfied me. You know, the right one. Maybe I'll find one, while I'm here in San Francisco."

Olivia's eyes grew wide with excitement. "Wow! An engagement! I can't wait for Cecile to find out. Maybe this will get her out of that bad mood of hers."

A smile illuminated Mrs. McNeill's lined face. "Oh, I'm sure that it will"  
---------

Cole and Cecile silently stood side-by-side inside the elevator, as it conveyed them to the spacious boardroom of McNeill Enterprises. The half-demon tried to think of something to say. He even considered discussing the upcoming business conference, but they had covered that topic more than adequately, in the past few days.

A quick glance at Cecile's forlorn expression told him that she was not in the mood to talk. Come to think of it, the Vodoun priestess has been in a bleak mood since her arrival, yesterday. Unable to deal with the silent tension any longer, he finally murmured, "Penny for your thoughts."

"Huh?" Cecile stared at the half-demon with wide eyes.

Cole continued, "You seemed to be deep in thought. Is there something on your mind? The upcoming meeting?"

Cecile shook her head. "No. I'm fine. I . . ." She sighed. Long and hard. "Have you ever thought that your life might be in a rut, sometimes? That no matter how much you try, everything stays the same?"

Wondering what brought on this rant, Cole stared at her. "Uh . . . well, considering the changes I've been through during the past three years . . . not really."

Another sigh left Cecile's mouth. "What about those years before that? Before you first met Phoebe? I mean . . . didn't you feel then that your life was in a rut?"

"What are you getting at?"

"I . . ." The elevator stopped. The doors slid open and Cecile walked out before she could form a coherent answer.

The pair found themselves greeted by a well-dressed young executive. "Ms. Dubois? Mr. Turner? Hello, my name is Milo Kendrick. I'm Mr. McNeill's assistant. Please follow me." He led Cole and Cecile into an expensively furnished boardroom, where Harry and Jack McNeill awaited them. Along with other members of the Board. As the door closed behind them, Cole realized that Cecile's surprising revelation would have to wait for another time.

--------

A young man in his late twenties burst into Daley's herbal shop off Telegraph Road, later that morning. The Vodoun sorceress recognized the newcomer, and rang up her customer's purchases. No sooner had the latter left; she led the younger man to the stockroom in the back.

"Did you and Jeffrey find out anything about these . . . Charmed Ones?" Daley asked.

The young man, a narrow-faced novice bokor with rich brown skin and handsome features named Marc Beaudine, breathlessly sat down on a nearby stool. He removed a small notebook from his jacket pocket. "Yeah. They're practically famous in the local Wiccan community."

"That's nice," Daley commented tartly. "The question is . . . why are they famous?"

Marc removed a few sheets of folded paper from his jacket and handed them to Daley. "I got that from the Internet. There's this tale, or legend or whatever about these three sisters from a long line of witches, who are destined to become the world's most powerful witches. Called the Charmed Ones. They were destined to kill the leader of some demonic faction. Someone called the Source."

Daley read the sheet of paper, which had been printed from an Internet website on Wiccan mythology. "I think I had heard about this Source. From a warlock I used to know. Too bad he's dead."

"Well, I know this other warlock," Marc added. "And he told me and Jeffrey that this Source is dead. He had been killed nearly two years ago. By these witches called the Charmed Ones. Wilson - he's the warlock I had spoken with - told me a lot about them."

"So, who are they? The Charmed Ones?"

Marc continued, "Like I said, three sisters who happened to be witches. They're believed to be the most powerful witches ever."

A frown appeared on Daley's face. "What do you mean by . . . believed? Aren't they the most powerful Wiccan witches?"

"Well . . . not really. According to Wilson, they would have been, if it wasn't for the Aingeal Staff Bearer."

"Now, I'm confused. The who?"

Sighing, Marc added, "A witch from some Scottish family, who happens to be the bearer of a powerful wizard's staff. The present bearer is a descendant of this wizard. But no one knows his or her identity. But the Aingeal Staff Bearer is just as powerful as the Charmed Ones. And these sisters are only that strong when they come together as the Power of Three."

Daley took a deep breath. "And what is the name of this family of witches?"

"Halliwell," Marc replied. "The family's name is Halliwell."

"That name sounds familiar."

A sly smile curved Marc's lips. "It should. Phoebe Halliwell. The 'DEAR PHOEBE' column of the BAY-MIRROR."

Daley felt flabbergasted. "Are you kidding me?" The idea of a local celebrity being a powerful witch would have never occurred to her. "Wait a minute. She's one of the Charmed Ones?"

"Yep! And so is the owner of that nightclub on Fremont. You know . . . P3? Her name is Piper Halliwell. There's a third sister, but Wilson didn't get her name. As for Piper, she's the mother of this powerful child you had told me about. Do you remember that day, nine months ago, when we weren't able to perform any magic?"

Nodding, Daley replied, "Yeah. I never did find out what happened that day."

Marc leaned forward, his brown eyes glittering with intensity. "That was the day Piper Halliwell gave birth to her son. His father is believed to be a whitelighter."

"A what?"

"Whitelighters. They're daemons. Only they're on the side of good. Guardian angels or something like that."

Daley said, "So, what you're saying is this child is the son of an extremely powerful witch and a daemon."

Marc continued, "And he's also an extremely powerful little baby. He has great magical powers. Stronger than his mother, his aunts, his daddy and everyone else. Other daemons and warlocks have been trying to get their hands on his powers for months."

The idea of possessing the Halliwell child's magic struck Daley as very appealing. With such power, she could assume leadership of the Vodoun community. Or any other magical community. And protect her little side business, so that it could develop into a multi-billion dollar business. If only she could get her hands on the child.

"By the way," Marc added, "I've discovered something interesting about the Halliwell baby." He handed Daley a newspaper. "That's one of the local Wiccan papers. Called THE LUNAR VOICE. Turn to page eight."

Daley turned to the page as instructed. It was filled with employment ads and notices. "What am I looking for?" she asked.

"The ad near the bottom of the page. In the column, second from the left."

Sure enough, Daley founded what she was looking for. It was an ad seeking a nanny for a nine month-old baby. It featured a telephone and a person of contact - namely P. Halliwell. The sorceress smiled. This sounded promising. Very promising, indeed.

END OF PART II 


	3. Part III

"THE POWER OF ONE" by RFK

PART III

Power transfer. Daley heaved a sigh, inside her private office. She had checked her spell book for anything on the subject, but came up empty. Not surprising, since she has never dealt with the transfer of power during her fifteen years as a magic practioner.

Another sigh left her mouth and she examined her spell book one more time. Again, nothing. She slammed the book shut. Perhaps she should forget about this insane idea and go ahead with the plans to expand her business. Then again . . . to hell with it! She had to find a way to access that child's powers.

Out of desperation, Daley scanned her bookshelf for any information she might find on West African magic. She finally came upon a book titled THE SUPERNATURAL WORLD OF THE IVORY COAST. It had been written by an early 20th century anthropologist named Jonathan Close. Much to Daley's surprise, the book contained detailed information on the region's myths . . . and practices of various West African shamans. Including spells that she never knew existed. It still eluded Daley that a British anthropologist would come upon such a discovery. And record them. Perhaps he had been so fervent in his desire to record West African culture, he failed to realize that he had exposed practices and spells that others would consider valuable . . . and dangerous.

After removing the book from the shelf, Daley examined it - page by page. She came across rituals that had been performed by now dead houngans, mambos and other magic practioners. Rituals for good health, prosperity, and protection against evil spirits. The latest chapters, however, included spells and ritual on a more sophisticated level. In one of the chapters, Daley finally found a ritual that transferred psychic abilities and magic from one being to another. A ritual, according to the book, that had first been created by a 12th century sorcerer. After reading the details of the ritual, Daley realized that she had found what she was looking for. The sorceress copied details and instructions of the ritual on a notebook. Once she was finished, she reached for her cordless telephone and dialed a number.

"Hello?" a voice finally answered. "This is the Halliwell residence. May I help you?"

Daley replied, "Is this P. Halliwell, who had placed an ad for a nanny?"

"Yes, this is Piper Halliwell. Who is this?"

Taking a deep breath, Daley continued, "Hi, my name is Donna Thompson. I saw your ad in THE LUNAR VOICE newspaper. And I was wondering if the nanny position had been filled.

Piper Halliwell informed Daley that she had not filled the position. "Right now, you're the second person who has called about the job. Uh, why don't you come by, tomorrow? Say around eleven in the morning? There might be a few more applicants. And after I finish with the interviews, I'll . . . make my choice."

"Okay. Sounds great to me. I'll see you tomorrow, around eleven. Bye." After the other woman said good-bye, Daley disconnected the line. And smiled.

-----------

Around five-thirty that evening, Piper bid good-bye to the third and final applicant for the position of Wyatt's nanny and hung up the telephone. "Well, that's three so far," she said to her guest. "Two women and a man have answered the ad."

Chris, who had dropped by to warn the sisters about a shape-shifting demon that steals the essence and powers of other beings, frowned. "What ad?"

Piper shot an annoyed glance at the young whitelighter. "The ad I had placed in newspapers and in some of the local occult stores for the position of nanny. For Wyatt."

"A nanny for . . ." Disbelief poured out of Chris' blue eyes. "Are you crazy? Getting a nanny for Wyatt?"

"Well, it's either that or allow my club to sink into bankruptcy," Piper retorted. "I need some time to get back my customers and attract new ones. Which means I'll need a regular babysitter for Wyatt. A nanny."

Chris demanded, "What about Paige and Phoebe? Or D. . .Leo?"

Piper sighed. "Both Phoebe and Paige have jobs . . . and a social life. As for Leo . . ." She rolled her eyes in contempt. "Forget it. He's too busy being an Elder."

"Still . . ."

"Don't you have other charges to see?" she interrupted in a too-sweet voice that failed to match the hard gleam in her eyes.

The whitelighter's face turned red. "There's still the matter of that demonic shape shifter . . ."

"We'll let you know when we find it. Bye." Piper continued to stare at Chris, letting him know in no uncertain terms that he was no longer welcomed.

Fortunately, Chris got the hint. He gave Piper a sharp nod and immediately orbed out of the kitchen. Much to the Charmed One's relief.

--------

Dinner at the Golden Horn restaurant did not turn out as Cecile had hoped. Or expected. Although Olivia and Andre proved to be lively dinner companions - with Cole providing his usual caustic wit - Cecile remained mired in her present dark mood.

She stared at her boyfriend, while he related his findings at Olivia's new store. Poor Andre, she thought. He seemed so happy. So energetic. Soon, she would have to pull the plug on his happiness, when she breaks the bad news. Cecile had considered telling him over a week ago. But when Olivia had asked him to accompany her to San Francisco and help appraise certain items in that new shop, the Vodoun priestess had decided to postpone her announcement. She realized that it could wait until their return to New Orleans.

". . . and the next thing I knew," Andre said, "I found myself holding a statute of Ammut."

Olivia frowned. "Who?"

Cole explained, "Ammut. An ancient Egyptian demon that devours the souls of those whose hearts proved to be too heavy to be sent to the Hall of Maat. Which is where judgment of the dead is performed."

"Ewww!" Olivia said with a shiver. She said to the half-demon, "You seemed to know a lot of this stuff."

"Not as much as Andre," Cole protested. "He had studied a lot on the mythologies of this world and other dimensions."

Andre shook his head. "What I can't understand is how this guy . . . what was his name?"

"Stefan Kostopulos."

"How did he get his hands on such stuff?" Andre continued, "Including a medallion created by a dominion spirit."

The red-haired witch replied, "I don't know. According to his son, Kostopulos was a big collector of antiquities. He also studied the occult, but I got the feeling that he didn't know the significance of some of the stuff he had collected."

"I bet that Cecile's mama would love to get her hands on some of that stuff. Right, cherie?" Andre addressed the question to Cecile.

The Vodoun priestess blinked, aware that she had been drawn into the conversation. "Huh? Oh . . . yeah, I guess."

"You guess?" Andre shook his head. "Baby, I've seen some of the stuff inside your mama's shop. A lot of those items are pretty freaky. I mean, there's a reason why she keeps 'certain items' locked up in that storeroom in the back."

Olivia frowned. "Is that what Mrs. Dubois does with her . . . uh, with the certain items in her shop? Lock them up in a back room? Maybe I should do the same. There's an empty storeroom in the back." She squirmed slightly in her chair. "Right now, I think I need a trip to the restroom." She stood up.

Andre also stood from his chair. "Yeah. Same here. Excuse us, folks." He and Olivia left the table.

The moment the pair exited from the private dining room, Cole turned to Cecile. "Is there something wrong?"

"Huh?" Cecile blinked. Was her bad mood that apparent?

Looking worried, the half-demon said in a low voice, "You seemed to be on another planet, lately. I'm talking about what you had told me, earlier. About our lives being in a rut. What was that about?"

Oh shit! Cecile could have kicked herself for opening her big mouth. Realizing that Cole would not easily dismiss the matter, she heaved a large sigh. And decided to tell the truth. "It's about . . ." Cecile hesitated. "I . . . I guess I want something new in my life. You know what I mean?"

A confused looking Cole shook his head. "No, I don't. What . . .?"

"May I ask you something?" Cecile realized that she had caught the half-demon off guard. To be honest, she did not really care. "You were the one who first brought up marriage to Phoebe, right? You were the one who asked her to marry you? And not the other way around?"

Cole's expression became guarded. Almost mask like. "What are you getting at?"

Cecile's mouth curved into a wry smile. "I guess that's a big yes."

"Yeah, I had asked Phoebe to marry me. So what?"

After a brief hesitation, Cecile continued, "Why? What I'm getting at . . . Hell! Look, all I want to know is why you were the one to ask Phoebe, before she could ask you."

Cole hesitated. Then a slight smirk appeared on his mouth. "I don't know, Cecile. Because it's traditional for the man to ask, I guess." 

Cecile rolled her eyes in contempt. "Cole, get real! This is the 21st century. And I know you're not a sexist. So, stop bullshitting and please answer the answer the question."

The half-demon shot a quick glance at the dining room's door. And sighed. "All right. If you must know . . . I guess I had wanted something different with Phoebe. Something more permanent. You know, build a life together. Only it didn't . . ." Pain flashed in his blue eyes for a brief moment. "I guess it didn't work out."

Nodding, Cecile said, "Now, you know what I want."

Surprise reflected in Cole's eyes. "Wait a minute! Are you saying that you want to get married?"

After a brief hesitation, Cecile shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Maybe." She paused again. "Yeah, I do. Why not? I'm tired of our old relation . . ." Spotting Andre and Olivia in the doorway, she broke off. "Don't say anything to Andre or anyone else!" she hissed. "Please? Not until I'm ready." Then she smiled at the newcomers, ignoring Cole's stunned expression. "So, are you guys ready for dessert?"

------ 

The doorbell rang. Piper glanced at the grandfather clock. It read 10:43 in the morning. It seemed that the first applicant for Wyatt's nanny had finally arrived.

Doubts began to assail the Charmed One's senses. Piper took a deep breath. Calm down, she told herself. But what if she was making a mistake? Chris seemed to think so. Along with Barbara McNeill and Cole. And their experiences with that elf nanny seemed to hint to Piper that perhaps a nanny might not be in the cards. After the last attack on Wyatt, the Elf Nanny decided she had enough with the Halliwell household. 

Again, the doorbell rang. Piper sighed. Screw it, she decided. Might as well finish what she had started. She fixed a bright smile on her face and opened the door. "Good morning," she greeted the slender man, standing in the doorway. 

The newcomer held out his hand. "Hi! Warren Koslo. I uh, I saw your ad on the bulletin board at Ostera's." He referred to the herbal shop where Paige worked.

"Oh." Piper shook his hand. "Um, why don't you come inside?"

Mr. Koslo smiled. "Sure." Piper stepped aside and ushered him inside the manor. 

-------

Less than five minutes after Warren Koslo's arrival, the doorbell rang again. "Excuse me," Piper said to her guest. Then she left him inside the Solarium with Wyatt and headed for the front door.

The next applicant turned out to be a middle-aged Latino woman with short hair and stoic features. "Good morning," she greeted in a pleasant voice. "My name is Mrs. Rosa Madrigal. I'm here for the nanny position. I saw the ad on the bulletin board, at the Red Pyramid."

"How nice." The Charmed One smiled at the newcomer. She widened the door. "Why don't you come in?" Then she held a hand to Mrs. Madrigal. "I'm Piper Halliwell, Wyatt's mother. Uh . . ." She glanced toward the direction of the Solarium. "I'm interviewing another candidate right now."

Mrs. Madrigal looked slightly disappointed. "You are?"

"Oh, don't worry. He's the first one to arrive. Um, why don't you wait here, until I finish?"

A polite smile appeared on the older woman's face. "Oh. Okay. Of course." Then she sat down on the sofa. Piper flashed one quick smile at her, and returned to the Solarium and Warren Koslo.

-------

The doorbell rang for the third time that morning. Piper bit back a frustrated oath, and smiled at Mr. Koslo. Once more, their interview had been interrupted. She sighed and shot a weary smile at the applicant. "Excuse me." Then she glanced at Wyatt, who seemed fast asleep in his basquinet, and headed for the living room.

On her way to the front door, Piper smiled at Mrs. Madrigal. The doorbell rang one last time, before she finally opened it. Outside stood a slender black woman of medium height, curly long hair, along with wide brown eyes and narrow cheekbones on a narrow face. "Hi," the woman greeted, "I'm Da . . . Donna Thompson. I saw your ad in THE LUNAR VOICE for the nanny position."

Piper shook the woman's hand. "Come on in. You're the third person to show up."

Brown eyes widened in surprise, as Ms. Thompson entered the manor. "Third person?" she said with a frown.

"Yeah, um why don't you take a seat?" Piper indicated the living room, where Mrs. Madrigal sat. "I'll get to you, as soon as I finish with Mrs. Madrigal, here, and my other applicant."

Ms. Thompson eyed Mrs. Madrigal with wary eyes. She sat down in the chair, left of the sofa. The two female applicants exchanged polite smiles. Piper heaved a soft sigh and returned to her guest in the Solarium. At that moment, the Charmed One realized that she was in for a long morning and afternoon.

END OF PART III 


	4. Part IV

"THE POWER OF ONE" by RFK

PART IV

"Hey." Jason popped into Phoebe's private office.

Phoebe smiled at her paramour. "Hey yourself. What can I do for you?"

The publisher leaned over Phoebe's desk, his face hovering inches away from hers. "How about lunch . . . with me?" he asked in a seductive voice.

Smiling, Phoebe automatically picked up a paper weight that had been an office-warming present from Piper. "Well . . . hmmmm. Let me think about that," she whispered. "Now, where do you plan to take me?"

"Well, there's the Compass Rose at the St. Francis Hotel."

Phoebe wrinkled her nose playfully. "Too stuffy. How about . . .?" A gasp left her mouth, as images of a demon attacking her older sister filled her mind. Despite Piper's best efforts, the demon kills the oldest Charmed One and kidnaps a sleeping Wyatt. The vision ended with the disappearance of the demon and her nephew.

Jason stared at Phoebe, frowning. "Something wrong, honey? You looked a . . . I don't know. A bit spaced out."

"Oh, uh . . ." Phoebe quickly tried to think of an excuse. "It's nothing. Nothing big. I . . . uh, just remembered."

"Remembered what?"

Think Phoebe, think! Finally an answer came to the Charmed One. "Uh . . . I just remembered that Piper wanted me to a favor for her. Pick up both her and the food she had prepared for some private luncheon at P3."

Jason's frown deepened. "A luncheon at a nightclub?"

"Actually . . . it's a party. Office party."

"Yeah, but at a night . . ."

Phoebe stood up and walked around her desk. "Oh baby, I'm sorry." She planted a light kiss on Jason's cheek. "I'm going to have to take a rain check on lunch, today." Then she grabbed his arm and steered him toward the door. "We can have lunch, tomorrow."

Reluctantly, Jason allowed himself to be dragged out of the office. "Okay, but you tell Piper that I've got you all booked for myself, tomorrow."

"Okay baby. Bye." Phoebe gave Jason one last kiss and slammed the door in his face. She leaned against the wall and sighed. Then she picked up the telephone receiver on her desk and dialed the number for Ostera's.

After the third ring, a voice answered. "Ostera's Herbal Shop. How may I help you?"

"Hello? Who is this?" Phoebe demanded.

The voice continued, "This is Maddy. May I help you?"

"Maddy, this is Phoebe Halliwell. I need to speak with Paige. Is she there?"

Maddy replied, "Sorry, but she's making a special delivery right now. I can take a message."

Phoebe hesitated. Until she realized that she could reach Paige by the latter's cell phone. "Never mind. I'll call back, later."

"Is this some kind of magical emergency?" Maddy's question reminded Phoebe that the shop assistant happened to be a witch. "I could get hold of Barbara."

"No, that's okay. Thanks anyway. Bye." Phoebe hung up the phone. Then she took a deep breath and cried out her whitelighter's name. "Chris! Chris, I need you! Now!"

--------- 

Around the same time of Jason's visit to Phoebe's office, Cecile sat inside the McNeill boardroom, as she provided the last figures for her presentation to the Board members. "Cresent, Incorporated now provides computer office software to over thirty companies and corporations in the Lower Mississippi Valley, and parts of the Southeast," she concluded. "With McNeill Enterprises, I hope to expand distribution to the West Coast. I could provide the Board with a list of my clients and their contact numbers. I am sure they will confirm what I have just told you."

Bursts of conversation broke out among the members inside the boardroom. Both Cole and Harry gave Cecile reassuring smiles. She smiled back, despite the fact that her heart was not really into the meeting at the moment. Cecile had managed to put aside her bleak mood regarding Andre during the meeting. But once she had completed her presentation, her mood immediately returned.

Perhaps she should consider ditching the idea of breaking up from Andre. To be honest, she did not really want to end their relationship. Hell, she was in love with him! Why on earth would she want to break up with the only true love she had ever had in her life?

Then Cecile thought of Piper Halliwell and Olivia's former whitelighter. She recalled Olivia telling her about the couple's difficult courtship and the problems they had encountered, getting married. Piper and Leo had viewed themselves as soulmates. Yet, less than three years after their wedding . . .

The vision hit Cecile's mind without any warning. She saw Piper unsuccessfully fighting a demon. . . Piper dying . . . and the demon stealing Wyatt from a basquinet before disappearing from the Halliwells' Solarium. The vision ended and Cecile gasped out loud.

The others inside the boardroom stared at her. "Is there something wrong?" Cole asked.

"I . . ." Cecile began to rub her forehead. "I think I'm getting a slight headache. Uh, excuse me." She stood up. Cole and the McNeills did the same. 

Mr. McNeill gently took Cecile by the arm. "Why don't you come inside my office, Cecile?" I'm sure that my assistant could find some aspirin or something for your headache. Cole?"

"Yeah." The half-demon and the witch escorted Cecile into the latter's spacious office. Once they were alone, Cole demanded, "Are you really having a headache? Because if I didn't know any better . . ."

Cecile sighed. "Yeah, I just had a vision. I saw some demon killing Piper, before kidnapping Wyatt."

Mr. McNeill frowned. "How is that possible? I thought that Wyatt had some kind of protective shield."

"I only know what I saw," Cecile insisted. She turned to Cole. "Maybe we should pop over there. Now."

Cole nodded. "Yeah. Right." He took hold of Cecile's hand. "We'll back," he said to Mr. McNeill. Then the two friends teleported out of the office.

--------- 

Twenty minutes before Phoebe and Cecile had simultaneously experienced their visions, Piper ended her interview with Warren Koslo, and bid him good-bye. Then she turned to the Latina woman. "Mrs. Madrigal? Could you follow me, please?"

Mrs. Madrigal rose to her feet and followed Piper into the Solarium. The applicant shot a quick glance at the sleeping Wyatt, before she sat down in a nearby wicker chair.

"So," Piper began, "I understand that you saw my announcement on the bulletin board at the Red Pyramid. Do you . . . go there a lot? Or was that just a onetime visit?"

Mrs. Madrigal nodded. "I'm a regular customer. Are you?"

"I've been there a few times." Piper hesitated, unsure of how to ask her next question. "Um . . . are you into . . . uh, the occult?"

The older woman frowned. "Aren't you? I had assumed that you were also into it . . . considering where you had posted the ad." She paused. "You are into it. Right?"

Piper replied sardonically, "More than you can imagine." Mrs. Madrigal's eyes grew wide. "I'm . . . uh, a witch. One of those Wiccans. I've been one for at least five years."

"Oh." The older woman's shoulders sagged with relief. "Well, I'm glad that I wasn't wrong. You see, I also practice magic."

Relief flooded Piper's veins. "Really? Are you some kind of witch?"

Mrs. Madrigal stood up. And right before Piper's eyes, she transformed into a pale, stocky man with wintergreen eyes. "No," he said in a deep voice. "I'm a demon!" He tossed an energy ball at the Charmed One.

Piper let out a squeal, before she flung her hands at the energy ball and destroyed it in mid-air. "Oh crap!" Then she flung her hands at the demon. His body immediately exploded . . . and reassembled within seconds. "Oh crap! Chris! CHRIS!"

The demon flung another energy ball at Piper. She froze it in mid-air and ducked behind the chair. The demon waved one hand and the energy ball continued its course toward her, striking the wall and missing her head by inches. With her sisters at work and Chris failing to show up, Piper realized that she might be in serious danger. "You can't hide from me forever, witch! And your sisters can't help you!" The demon sent another energy ball toward Piper's direction. Before she could destroy it with her combustion power, it blew up the chair in front of her. And led the Charmed One to rue the day she had thought about hiring a nanny, in the first place.

------- 

Daley heard a woman's voice cry out the name - Chris. She frowned. What in the hell was going on in the other room? Then she heard a man shout, "You can't hide from me forever, witch!" At that moment, the sorceress realized that something was wrong. She had seen a middle-aged woman follow Piper Halliwell into the other room. Where did the man come from?

An explosive sound interrupted Daley's musings. Without thinking, she rushed into the other room and found Ms. Halliwell cowering before a stocky man with pale skin. And no sign of Mrs. Madrigal. An energy ball formed in the intruder's hand. Viewing him as a threat to her plans, Daley quickly reached for a dagger in her knit bag and threw it at the man. The dagger's sharp point pierced his shoulder, forcing him to cry out in pain and dissipate the energy ball.

"You!" the man growled, as he glared at Daley. An energy ball materialized in his hand. As he hurled it at Daley's direction, she cried out, "Deflect" in Yoruba. The energy ball zinged back toward the man. He ducked before it could strike his body.

Daley rushed toward Ms. Halliwell. "Are you okay?" she asked, breathlessly.

"I could be better," the other woman shot back. "Do you . . . uh, recognize this demon?"

"He's a daemon?"

Another energy ball zoomed toward them. Ms. Halliwell flung out her hands and the energy ball exploded in mid-air. "I guess that's a no." Desperation shone in the witch's dark eyes. "Do you know any spell to get rid of this guy?"

"Uh . . ." At that moment, one immediately came to Daley's mind. "Wait. Here's one." She began to chant, "Hell threw you from its inner core, but earth won't hold you anymore. Since heaven cannot be your place, your flesh and blood I now erase." The two women stared at the daemon. Nothing happened. "Damn! Maybe we should say the spell, together."

Both women took a deep breath and repeated the spell. "Hell threw you from its inner core, but earth won't hold you anymore. Since heaven cannot be your place, your flesh and blood I now erase!" Instead of the daemon's death, they were faced with another energy ball that missed Ms. Halliwell's head by inches. The pair quickly scurried on their knees, toward the sofa.

"Too bad my sisters aren't here," the witch commented. "I could use the Power of Three. And why does that spell sound familiar?"

Daley asked, "Why is he trying to kill you?"

"So that me and my sisters won't come after him, if he steals my son."

Ah! So the attack was about the child. Then Daley's eyes narrowed, as she spotted a string holding an object around the daemon's neck. "Look! There's something around his neck! Let me . . ." Focusing her attention upon the object, Daley murmured a chant underneath her breath. The string broke, taking the daemon by surprise. Then the object - obviously an amulet - fell upon the floor. "The spell again!"

The two women chanted, "Hell threw you from its inner core, but earth won't hold you anymore. Since heaven cannot be your place, your flesh and blood I now erase!" Cries of pain poured out of the daemon's mouth, as flames engulfed his body. Within seconds, he exploded into a ball of fire and light.

Ms. Halliwell rushed over to the basquinet for a peek at her son. "He's safe," she said with relief. "Awake, but safe." She turned to Daley. "Are you still interested in the job?"

Daley struggled not to flash a triumphant smile. "Sure."

"You're hired."

END OF PART IV 


	5. Part V

"THE POWER OF ONE" by RFK

PART V

Piper felt more than happy that she had finally found the perfect nanny for Wyatt. Donna Thompson turned out to be a Voudon practioner - a mambo, like Cecile Dubois. Although Ms. Thompson's power happened to be thermokinesis, she also possessed the ability to use other forms of psychic powers through spells and chants. Nor did she seem to mind dealing with the constant demonic attacks upon Wyatt. It seemed that Ms. Thompson had experienced plenty of them, during her years as a mambo. But it was Wyatt's immediate acceptance of her that led Piper to finally hire her.

"So, when can you start?" the Charmed One asked the priestess. She lowered Wyatt back in his basquinet.

Ms. Thompson replied, "Is tomorrow okay?"

"Sounds great." Piper led the other woman out of the Solarium. "Uh, how about eight in the morning? Is that okay?"

"Fine by me."

Piper continued, "You know, I didn't realize there were any Vodoun practioners here on the West Coast. I mean, my sisters and I had once encountered this witch doctor, but we thought he came from somewhere else." She noticed that the other woman had stiffened slightly. "Is there something wrong?"

Flashing a prim smile, Ms. Thompson replied, "We Vodoun practioners don't like the term 'witch doctor'. We find it insulting. And the word - witch - is considered . . . an insult in the Vodoun world. I know that it isn't in your world. But it is in ours."

"Oh. Uh . . ." Now there was something that Cecile or the McNeills had never bothered to reveal. "I, uh . . . didn't know that. Maybe this guy was a priest. Anyway, I don't think he was from around here. And Cecile and Andre are from New Orleans. Besides, I've always thought that Vodoun was only practiced back East."

Ms. Thompson added, "I didn't realize you were that familiar with Vodoun. You've been to New Orleans?"

"No, I met Cecile and Andre, here in San Francisco. In fact, they're visiting the city, this week." The Charmed One told the Vodoun priestess about the two visitors from Louisiana.

For a brief second, Piper thought she saw Ms. Thompson's eyes widened in alarm. She realized that she had imagining things, when the other woman smiled. "Really? And this Miss Dubois is a telepath? And a clairvoyant? That's interesting. My grandmother was a seer."

"So is one of my sisters," Piper added. "Phoebe. She's also an empathy." Then she sighed. "I should warn you about the latter. Phoebe had just received her empathic powers over a month ago. And it's been driving us all crazy."

Ms. Thompson smiled. "Thanks for the warning." Then she glanced at the floor and a frown appeared on her face. "Hey, what happened to that amulet? The one that daemon had been wearing."

Piper glanced around. "I don't know. I didn't see it after we had vanquished him. Maybe it was destroyed."

"Hmmm. Well," Ms. Thompson glanced at the grandfather clock, "I better get going. I had promised to pick up a friend in another twenty minutes. Uh . . . see you tomorrow morning? Around eight?"

"Around eight." The two women shook hands and bid each other good-bye. After Ms. Thompson had left, Piper heaved a smile and returned to the Solarium to begin the cleanup.

Two figures materialized into the room, taking Piper by surprise. It was Cole and Cecile. "My God!" the latter replied. "Piper! Are you okay? Have you been . . .?"

"Attacked? By a demon?" Piper nodded. "Yeah, but I'm fine. How did you, uh . . .?" Realization hit Piper, as she remembered one of Cecile's powers. "Oh. Yeah. Uh, everything's okay. I . . ."

Two more figures orbed into view. Phoebe and Chris. The former rushed toward her older sister. "Piper! You're alive!"

"No kidding," Piper murmured in her usual sardonic manner. "I'm fine. I'm okay. And the demon has been vanquished." She paused and stared at both Phoebe and Cecile. "You mean to say that the both of you had visions of me . . ."

Cecile interrupted. "Apparently so." She stared at Piper. "So, uh . . . you managed to fight off the daemon?"

Piper sighed. "Actually, I had a little help. I probably would have been dead, if it weren't for her."

Cole asked, "Who rescued you?"

"Wyatt's new nanny." Piper then proceeded to tell the others about Donna Thompson, and the demon who had attacked them. "It turns out that she's also a Vodoun priestess. Like Cecile. If she had not spotted that amulet . . ."

Chris frowned. "What amulet?"

Piper told them about the amulet that had protected the demon from her powers. "I think it may have been destroyed, when we vanquished him. We couldn't find it."

Phoebe enveloped her sister into a bear hug. "Who cares? As long as you're safe. And alive," she said. "Is this Miss Thompson here? I would love to thank her."

"You can do that, tomorrow. She'll be arriving around eight." She glanced around the Solarium. "Oh God! Look at this mess! I'm going to be cleaning this up, all day!"

"Why don't you use that spell that Paige had used when . . ." Phoebe broke off and shot an uncomfortable glance at Cole. Then she murmured, "Never mind."

But Piper knew what Phoebe was about to mention - namely the spell Paige had used to clean up Cole's penthouse, after they had killed him. She sighed and decided to thank her younger sister for the advice, later. "I guess I better start . . . cleaning up, right away. Meanwhile, you all can leave. Because once I'm finished, I'll have to feed Wyatt and then both of us will be taking naps."

The others mumbled their good-byes and teleported out of the house. Much to her relief.

------

The doorbell to Daley's house rang, later that evening. The sorceress made her way to the front door and opened it. Marc stood in front of the doorway, wearing an anxious look. "Well? How did it go?" he asked.

"Everything's just peachy," Daley wearily replied. "You're looking at Wyatt Halliwell's new nanny. Of course, I had to help his mama fight off a daemon in order to get the job?"

"Say what?" Marc stepped inside the house. Daley led him to her large sitting room, just east of the foyer. He sat down in one of the chairs. "You had to what?"

Daley settled on the sofa. "Help save her and the boy from a daemon. Some damn shapeshifter, I think. He had disguised himself as some Mexican woman, applying for the job. He tried to kill Piper . . ."

"Who?"

Annoyed by her assistant's dense questions, she threw a pillow at his head. Marc neatly caught it, instead. "The damn witch who had just hired me! Piper Halliwell! Who in the hell do you think I've been talking about?" Daley retorted. "Some daemon had tried to kill her. Strange that he didn't bother to simply snatch the kid."

"Maybe he wanted to make sure that this Halliwell witch didn't come after him. After all, she's supposed to be pretty powerful, herself."

Daley sighed. "Good point. Anyway, I helped Piper kill him. And in gratitude," she allowed herself a smug smile, "she hired me on the spot. No references were necessary."

Marc nodded approvingly. "So, everything's okay. Right?"

Daley's smile disappeared. "Not quite. It seems that one of the other sisters - the newspaper columnist - is clairvoyant. And empathic."

"That's not good," Marc said with a frown. "She might find out the truth about you, before you're ready to do the ritual."

"Oh, it gets worse," Daley added. "The Halliwells are friends of a Vodoun priestess named Cecile Dubois, who also happens to be clairvoyant. And she's a telepath. And guess who happens to be her boyfriend?" Marc shook his head. "Andre Morell. He's here in San Francisco. With her."

A low whistle escaped from Marc's mouth. "Are you shitting me?" he cried. "Have you ever met . . ."

"No! But, I've met the drug lord that he worked for - Aaron Mercer. And there's a good chance that he has heard of me."

Marc shrugged his shoulders. "As long as you two have never met, and you're using a phony name . . . what's the big deal? You have nothing to worry about."

Daley paused, as she walked over to her bar. "Except for this Cecile Dubois, and Phoebe Halliwell. It'll be nearly a week before the half moon. I don't want to take the chance of being found out by a bunch of seers."

"So, what are you going to do? Kill 'em?"

A sigh left Daley's mouth. "I don't think that's a good idea. Not now. Maybe I'll . . ." She broke off and contemplated on how to deal with this psychic double threat. Until she spied an object resting on the bar's surface. It was the amulet that had been worn by the daemon killed by her and Piper Halliwell. She had snatched the amulet, while the witch's back had been turned. "Maybe I won't have to worry about them, after all."

"What's that?" Marc asked.

Daley stared at the object in her hand. "I don't know. Judging from the symbol on this thing, it may have been created by a dominion spirit. All I know is that it prevented that daemon from being affected by the witch's powers."

Marc stared at her. "Do you think it'll work against the two seers?"

"I'll find out, tomorrow."

--------

Cole and Andre stepped out of the elevator and made their way toward Olivia's apartment. They found the two women finishing the last of their breakfast. 

"You mean to say that you two aren't ready, yet?" the houngan protested in jest.

Cecile remained silent, while Olivia shot Andre an amused look. "My, we are impatient this morning! You must really enjoy going through my shop."

Andre shrugged. "I have to admit that I find it interesting. Reminds me of when I was studying mythology and anthropology in college." He leaned down to plant a kiss on Cecile's cheek. "I guess I'll be seeing you later, baby. Take care."

"You too," Cecile murmured. She and Cole watched the other two leave the apartment. Once Olivia and Andre had left, she stood up and headed for the living room. "I'll be ready in a minute."

Cole replied, "No problem."

A few minutes later, Cecile emerged from her bedroom, carrying her portfolio and a suitcase. "Okay. Let's go." The pair left the apartment and traveled down to the building's underground garage, via the elevator. After they climbed into Cole's black Porsche, the half-demon heaved a sigh. Cecile stared at him. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Cole shook his head. "Nothing. I . . ." He paused, before continuing. "I was thinking about that attack on Piper, yesterday."

"She got out of it, okay. She's alive. What's the big deal?"

Another sigh left Cole's mouth. "Nothing. I just find this whole idea of her hiring a nanny, a big mistake. Maybe she should try to get in touch with Leo."

Cecile snorted with derision. "Seems like he's more interested in being some high-level guardian angel than being a husband and father."

Her acid response drew a long and hard stare from Cole. "What brought this on?"

"Brought what?"

"Why are you so bitter? Are you speaking of Leo? Or Andre?"

Rolling her eyes, Cecile retorted, "What are you talking about? Andre hasn't abandoned me!"

"No, you seem more interested in abandoning him," Cole shot back. "Olivia told me about that little rant against men. About how we end up shoving the women in our lives into the background. You were talking about Andre, right? Do you think he's no longer interested in you? Is that why you want to get married?"

Cecile stared at the half-demon. "Are you always in the habit of asking so many questions, at once?"

"C'mon, Cecile! Don't bullshit me!" Cole continued, "Do you honestly think that a marriage is going to help you?"

Resentment flickered in Cecile's dark eyes. "I guess you don't."

It took all of Cole's efforts not to roll his eyes in contempt. "Why do people believe that a wedding ring is going to solve all of their problems?" He slipped his key into the car's ignition, and switched on the engine.

"This isn't about solving a problem!" Cecile retorted. "I just . . . I just want something different in my life. Something more solid than a convenient boyfriend on the other side of town. After what you told me about what led you to propose marriage to Phoebe, I thought you would understand!"

The Porsche rolled out of the parking lot and merged into San Francisco's early morning traffic. "Yeah, well now I know better! I found out that marriage didn't make my life better or improved my relationship with Phoebe. In fact, our relationship ended in the toilet. Our marriage didn't solve one fucking thing!"

"You had been possessed around the time you got married!" Cecile retorted.

Cole shot back, "And you honestly think that Phoebe and I would still be together, if the Source hadn't possess me? Because I can tell you right now that we wouldn't. I was in love with a woman who wanted a fantasy romance, and who's still incapable of growing up. And I would have remained a mortal - a state that I hated with every goddamn breath in my body - for nothing! Trust me. Our marriage would have ended, just as our little summer 'romance' did, over two months ago. Maybe a wedding ring might give you a little stability with Andre for a while. But sooner or later, your marriage will become a routine that will bore you out of your mind. And once again, you'll find yourself longing for a change. For something new. You know, you and Andre have a good thing going. Why can't you appreciate it?"

"Because it's no longer a good thing! At least to me." Cecile's eyes narrowed. "If what you and Phoebe had before your marriage was such a good thing, why did you ask her to marry you?"

The Porsche rolled to a stop at a red light. Cole took a deep breath and growled in a low voice, "Because I was too fucking stupid to appreciate what we had! That's why!"

"Hmmph! Just as you probably thought your friendship with Olivia was good enough, I bet," Cecile said with a sneer. "Until she got frustrated and started paying attention to that bastard, Paul Margolin. Tell me Cole, what if Olivia decides that she wants to be more than your girlfriend? Are you going to make the same mistake that you did, last spring? Pretend that your relationship is fine as it is?"

The light turned green. The Porsche roared into life and continued toward downtown. Cole opened his mouth to say something. Tell Cecile that she was wrong. Unfortunately, he could not find the right words.

END OF PART V 


	6. Part VI

"THE POWER OF ONE" by RFK

PART VI

The moment Chris orbed into the Halliwells' living room, the doorbell rang. Several seconds passed, but no member of the family appeared to answer the door. Again, it rang. This time, Chris decided to open the door, himself.

The whitelighter found a tall, brown-skinned woman standing in the doorway. She smiled politely. "Hi. I'm Donna Thompson. Piper Halliwell had hired me as a nanny, yesterday."

"Oh! Uh . . ." Chris hesitated, wondering how to introduce himself. "I'm, uh . . . I'm Chris. Chris Perry. A friend of the family."

Ms. Thompson's smile widened. "Really? May I come in?"

"Uh . . ."

Piper suddenly appeared and shook Ms. Thompson's hand. "Hi! Donna! Glad you could make it." She pushed Chris aside. "Come on in." The newly hired nanny entered the manor. "You're early," the Charmed One continued. "It's only twenty minutes to eight."

"I guess I'm a bit too eager, this morning," the other woman replied sheepishly. "Nerves."

The oldest Charmed One frowned at Chris. "What are you doing here?"

"You didn't know that he was here?" Ms. Thompson asked, looking slightly confused.

Sighing, Piper replied, "Uh, not really. You see . . ."

"I had let myself in," Chris added, hoping to save Piper an explanation of his status.

Piper rolled her eyes. "Chris is my whitelighter. He's also my sisters' whitelighter."

"Oh! Like your guardian angel, or something," Ms. Thompson said, staring at Chris. "Never met one, before."

Stunned by Piper's revelation, Chris stared at her. "Wait! You told her about me?"

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Chris!" Piper protested. "She knows I'm a witch. I know that she's a Voudon priestess. And she knows about Wyatt. I don't see any reason to keep you a secret."

Annoyed by his charge's lack of discretion, Chris fumed in silence. Meanwhile, the other two Charmed Ones appeared on the staircase. "Was that the doorbell?" Paige asked. Both she and Phoebe were dressed for work.

Chris watched as Piper introduced them to the newcomer. "Guys, this is Wyatt's new nanny - Donna Thompson. Donna, these are my sisters, Phoebe and Paige."

Ms. Thompson shook Paige's hand. "Nice to meet you." Then she hesitated, before shaking Phoebe's hand. "I'm a big fan of yours," she added. "I've read your column in the BAY-MIRROR. In fact, one of my friends had written a letter to you, over a year ago."

Phoebe smiled happily. "Thanks. It's nice to meet a fan. I'd talk a little more, but I have to get to work."

Nodding, Ms. Thompson said, "Of course." She continued to smile, as Phoebe and Paige headed for the front door. Chris noticed that the Voodoo woman's shoulders sagged with relief. Only, what would she be relieved about?

After the two younger sisters left, Piper turned to the new nanny. "Well, let's get acquainted with your new charge, shall we?" She led Ms. Thompson toward the staircase. Chris followed. As they turned the corner, Piper paused, and frowned at the whitelighter. "Where are you going? Shouldn't you be leaving now?"

"But I just got here," Chris insisted.

"Chris . . ." Piper hesitated. Then she sighed. "Never mind." She continued upstairs, with Ms. Thompson and Chris in her wake. Once they reached the nursery on the second floor, the trio found Wyatt playing with his toys, inside his crib. "There he is," Piper cooed. "Hel-lo honey!" She smiled at the infant, as he gurgled at the sight of his mother.

Every time Chris saw mother and son together, he found it difficult to reconcile the happy infant with the grown man from his future. How could it even be possible that Wyatt would . . .

Piper lifted her infant son from the crib. She carried him over to Ms. Thompson. "Hey Wyatt, remember Donna? You met her yesterday. She's going to be your new nanny!"

Wyatt regarded the other woman with curious eyes. Ms. Thompson smiled at him. "Hi Wyatt," she said cheerfully. "Remember me? It's nice to see you, again." The baby responded with silence.

"Maybe he doesn't remember you," Chris added. The two women stared at him. He decided to remain silent.

Ms. Thompson said to Piper, "May I?" Chris held his breath, as the witch handed over her son to the other woman. Then the nanny bounced the baby in her arms for several seconds. Chris let out a gust of breath, as Wyatt began to laugh.

"Well, it's nice to see that he still likes you," Piper commented.

The nanny smiled. "Yeah. For a moment there, I was worried." While Wyatt began to play with the buttons on her blouse, she continued, "Uh, is there a schedule for Wyatt, while you're away? You know, his meals and naps."

"Yeah." Piper paused, as she stared at the whitelighter. "Do you mind, Chris? This is business. I'll meet you, downstairs."

Chris hesitated. Then, "Um, yeah. Okay. I'll . . . uh, I'll be downstairs." He left the nursery and reluctantly returned downstairs. Several minutes passed before Piper joined him in the living room. "Where's Ms. Thompson?" he asked.

"Doing her job," Piper curtly replied. "Now, what do you want?"

Chris informed her that the Elders were pleased that the Charmed Ones had managed to vanquish the demonic shape shifter. "It turns out that he was an assassin and they would like you to find out who had hired him."

"As it so happens, it was Donna who helped me vanquish him, not Phoebe and Paige."

Surprised by the news, Chris nearly became speechless. "Oh. Uh . . ."

Piper continued, "As for finding out who had hired him, I'm just as interested in that little tidbit as the Elders. So, you can go back and tell them. Now, if you don't mind . . . good-bye."

Chris stared long and hard at her. "Look, I realize that you guys still resent that I had replaced Leo as your whitelighter. But it's not my fault that he had decided to . . ."

"Good-bye Chris." Piper glared at him.

A sigh left the young whitelighter's mouth. He got the message. After shooting Piper a wry smile, he orbed out of the house.

---------

Inside Olivia's new store, Andre lifted a dagger from one of the glass display cases and held it up in the air. "Hmmm. Interesting. And very beautiful." The dagger's hilt had been carved from silver. It was also studded with polished gems.

"Do you recognize it?" the elderly Mrs. McNeill asked.

With a shake of his head, Andre replied, "Nope. Looks like . . ." He paused, as he spotted an insignia on the hilt's bottom. "Huh."

Mrs. McNeill frowned. "What?"

"Do you recognize the insignia on the bottom?" He displayed the bottom of the dagger's hilt to the elderly witch.

Softly, Mrs. McNeill exclaimed, "Dear God and Goddess! That's . . ." Andre placed the dagger on the counter, while she reached for a book on sorcery called 'The Lemegeton" that she had brought from home. "That's the mark of a dominion spirit named Caspiel. Very powerful. And I'm sure that you're familiar with dominion spirits. 

Nodding, Andre replied, "Oh yeah. An immortal more powerful than daemons like Cole and Leo. Don't they rule over other daemons, including the Elders and the old Source. I also know that are responsible for cosmic order, and for maintaining a balance or something. I wonder how the shop's previous owner got his hands on this dagger. Which element is he supposed to be the great spirit of?"

"Fire," the elderly witch replied. "Which is why I won't touch it. There's also a medallion or amulet that belonged to Caspiel. Fortunately, it hasn't been seen in ages."

Andre let out a low whistle. "Definitely something that should remain locked up." He and Mrs. McNeill continued to examine the other daggers inside the case. Then they moved on to another - one filled with jewelry. After examining a pair of earrings and a necklace, Andre picked up a ring. It was a small, silver ring with a turquoise stone in the center. Andre could not help but feel that the ring would fit perfectly around Cecile's finger.

Mrs. McNeill glanced at it. "Very lovely. Looks like it had been made in the 17th century. I can tell by the design."

"Yea, it is nice." Andre continued to examine it. "Do you think it has any magical properties or . . .?"

"Do you see anything odd on it? A symbol or writing?

Andre used a magnifying glass to examine the ring more closely. Other than a phrase in French on the inside that translated into "Love forever", he could find anything out of the ordinary. And said so. "You know, this would make a great engagement ring for Cecile. Don't you think so?"

Mrs. McNeill nodded. "Definitely. Why don't you go ahead and buy it?"

A quick glance at the ring's price tag revealed that it cost nearly two hundred dollars. It seemed pretty cheap for a piece of jewelry over three hundred years old. "I guess I will," he said. Andre imagined the expression on Cecile's face, when he finally presented the ring to her. And he smiled.

------

Olivia and Cecile climbed the manor's stoop, before the former rang the doorbell. "Just a minute!" a voice bellowed from inside. Over a minute passed before the front door swung open, revealing Paige. She greeted the two friends and ushered them inside the house. "So guys, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to pick up a certain item that you were supposed to return to me," Olivia coolly replied. "Like my dragon brooch?"

Paige dark eyes reflected a touch of guilt. "Oh! Oh yeah. I was supposed to drop it off, yesterday. Wasn't I?"

A smile touched Olivia's lips. "I believe so."

The Charmed One led the two visitors toward the kitchen. "Would you mind if I hold on to it, a little longer?"

Olivia heaved a long-suffering sigh. "Yes Paige, I would. You've had it for nearly a week, now. I don't know if you realize this, but you've developed a habit of borrowing a lot of my stuff. I get the feeling that I'm becoming some kind of pawn shop on legs to you."

"Oh come on, Livy! I'm not that bad." Paige turned to Cecile for support. "Right?"

A 'don't look at me' expression appeared on Cecile's face.

The three women entered the kitchen, where they found a strange woman plopping a baby's bottle into a saucepan. The woman glanced at the newcomers, while Paige made the introductions. "Guys, this is Wyatt's new nanny - Donna Thompson. Donna, these are friends of mine - Olivia McNeill and Cecile Dubois."

Both Olivia and Cecile shook hands with the nanny. The redhead noticed that Ms. Thompson had hesitated, before grasping their hands. Interesting. The nanny asked, "Are you two witches, like Paige and her sisters?"

At first, Olivia seemed astounded by the woman's question. Until she remembered Cecile and Cole's account of yesterday's events - "Wait a minute!" she exclaimed. "You're the one who helped Piper fight off that demon! Right?"

Ms. Thompson nodded. "Yeah. I, uh . . . I've had similar encounters before. With daemons. I'm a . . . a mambo. A Voudon priestess."

Olivia smiled, as she patted Cecile's shoulder. "Small world! So is Cecile. And you were right about me. I am a witch."

A chuckle escaped from Ms. Thompson's mouth. "I'm beginning to feel even more at home. You can call me Donna, by the way."

"I better get that brooch," Paige said with a sigh. Cecile, who expressed a need to visit the bathroom, followed her out of the kitchen.

Once they were alone, Olivia asked Donna, "So, where exactly is home? Here in San Francisco?"

"Oakland," Donna quickly replied. Olivia noticed that her fingers automatically began to finger a leather strap hanging around her neck. "But I've been living in San Francisco for the last three or four years. Expensive."

Olivia's eyes narrowed. "Is that a necklace around your neck?"

"Huh?" Donna's hand immediately dropped to her side. "Oh. Uh . . . yeah."

"May I see it?"

For a brief moment, anxiety flashed in Donna's eyes. And Olivia wondered why. "Oh . . . uh, sure." The nanny - very slowly - began to remove the leather thong from around her neck. Olivia saw that it held an amulet.

Paige entered the kitchen, holding a small red velvet box. "Okay," she said, "here's your brooch. But . . . are you sure that you want it back . . .?"

At that moment, Donna dropped her amulet. Both she and Olivia kneeled to pick it up. The nanny's hand reached the amulet first. Before she could snatch it from the floor, Olivia managed a quick peek.

"Olivia, about that brooch," Paige insisted. "Are you sure that you won't change your mind and let me use it a little longer?"

Olivia forgot about the new nanny and the amulet, as she turned her attention to the Charmed One. "No Paige, I won't. Why don't you buy your own brooch? In fact, I'm sure you have a few nice pieces of jewelry, upstairs."

Paige sighed. "Yeah, but I love your brooch."

"Well, find one that looks like it. I'll see if I can get you a nice discount."

After handing over the brooch to Olivia, Paige retorted, "I'll hold you to your promise."

Cecile returned to the kitchen. "Did you get your brooch back?" she asked Olivia.

The redhead nodded. "Yeah. I . . ." Her eyes caught Donna tucking the amulet behind her blouse. Then the nanny removed the baby bottle from the saucepan. Suspicion of the other woman reasserted itself. "Yeah," Olivia slowly replied. "I did."

"Good. Let's go. I had a small lunch, today. And I'm looking forward to Cole's dinner."

Paige's face perked with interest. "Cole's cooking dinner?"

Cecile nodded. "Yeah." She turned to Donna and held out her hand. When she noticed that the other woman's hands were full, she smiled politely. "Well, it was nice meeting you. I hope we get to meet again, before I leave San Francisco."

Donna smiled at Cecile. "Same here." Then she faced Olivia. "And it was nice meeting you, too."

"Yeah. Keep up the good work." Olivia gave Donna a quick nod. Then both she and Cecile said good-bye to Paige, before leaving the kitchen. Once they were earshot from the youngest Halliwell and the nanny, Olivia commented, "You know, there's something odd about her. Wyatt's new nanny."

Cecile rolled her eyes. "Really? Don't you ever stop being a cop?"

"I'm serious! There's something odd about her." The two women left the manor. As they descended the stoop, Olivia continued, "You should have seen the way she had reacted, when she dropped this amulet that was around her neck."

"It's probably some kind of good luck piece for her," Cecile muttered. "Can you blame the woman? She had just recently survived a daemonic attack."

Olivia added, "And that's another thing . . ." The two friends reached Olivia's BMW. They climbed inside the convertible.

Cecile leaned back against the passenger seat with a sigh. "What other thing?"

Olivia hesitated before she finally continued, "I don't know. Why would any woman even bother to accept the job of Wyatt's nanny, after what happened? I realize that she's also a magic practitioner. But Piper wasn't even able to hold on to some elfin nanny, after an attack on Wyatt. It just doesn't make any . . ."

"Good grief, Olivia!" Cecile cried out. "Could you please give it a rest?"

Startled by her friend's outburst, Olivia stared at the Vodoun priestess. "Excuse me?"

Cecile continued to rant. "Why do you always let your paranoia get the best of you? So what if . . . Donna had accepted the job? The woman is a mambo. A Vodoun priestess, and obviously an experienced magic practitioner. And considering that she even bothered to answer Piper's ad only tells me that she was desperate for the job. So, please! Give it a rest!"

A long pause followed, as Olivia switched on the convertible's engine. "Jeez," she finally muttered. "Who stuck a crowbar up your ass?"

"Meaning?"

Olivia guided the convertible away from the curb and proceeded to drive it down Prescott Street. "Meaning, you've been acting like Miss Broodmeister of 2003, since you got here. What the hell is the matter?"

A large sigh - her third - left Cecile's mouth. "I'm . . ." She paused. Then, "I'm thinking of breaking up with Andre. And I don't know how to tell him."

Stunned by her friend's revelation, Olivia shot a surprised look at the other woman. Seconds before she managed to avoid a head-on collision with an oncoming green van.

END OF PART VI 


	7. Part VII

"THE POWER OF ONE" by RFK

PART VII

While Cole busied himself with putting the finishing touches to the Lamb Kidneys Madeira that he had prepared, Andre entered the penthouse's kitchen. "Is everything ready?" the latter asked.

"Yeah," Cole replied. He picked up the platter of lamb kidneys and carried it over to the dining table. Andre placed a dish of Artichokes Bernaise on the table, next to the kidneys. "I only hope this doesn't get cold, before the ladies arrive."

Andre shook his head in disbelief. "Man, how in the hell did you find the time to prepare all of this?"

"Left the office, early." Cole's eyes closely examined the table's settings. He spotted one of the knives out of place and corrected the mistake. "Don't worry about Cecile. I had dropped her off at Macy's downtown for some shopping. Olivia should have picked her up, by now."

Andre shot back, "I didn't ask."

"Yet." Cole glanced at his friend. "So, how was your day?"

The houngan's mouth opened momentarily. Then he shut it. "Oh, what the hell!" he finally said. "I've already told Olivia and her grandmother."

Cole frowned. "Told them what?"

A brief pause followed, before Andre declared with a smile, "I plan to ask Cecile to marry me."

After Cecile's revelation of her plans to dump Andre, Cole realized that his friend's news came as a great surprise. The half-demon stared at his friend with a stunned expression. "Say that . . . Are you serious? You really plan to marry Cecile?"

"Well, if she accepts my proposal." Andre sighed. "I know. You're a bit surprised. To be honest, I've been thinking of marrying her ever since Bruce and Barbara's wedding. But . . . okay, maybe I was a little afraid over how she would react. You know Cecile. She tends to keep her feelings to herself, sometimes."

Cole murmured, "No kidding."

Andre stared at him. "What?"

"Nothing."

The other man continued, "Anyway, I wasn't sure if Cecile might be interested in marriage. She always seemed so independent, sometimes. You know - 'me against the world'." Andre frowned. "God, I hope I'm wrong."

Cole replied before he could think otherwise, "Don't worry. You're not."

Once more, Andre stared at the half-demon. Hard. "Now, what in the hell did you mean by that?"

Realizing that he had nearly broke Cecile's confidence, Cole shook his head. "It's nothing. I was just . . . Never mind."

"No, you were about to say something about Cecile. What?"

Cole muttered a silent oath. For once in his life, he had failed to keep his big mouth shut. Perhaps he was growing soft in his increasing age. He took a deep breath. "Look, I don't know how to tell you this. But . . . Cecile plans to break up with you."

"What?" Disbelief shone in Andre's eyes.

"She plans to break up with you," Cole repeated. "Cecile's tired of being a girlfriend. She told me that she wants . . . more. Something better. She then told me that what she really wanted was . . ." The doorbell rang. Cole turned away. "Huh, looks like they're here." He walked over to the door.

Andre cried out, "Hey! What exactly does she want?"

But Cole barely heard his friend's words. Opening the door, he found Olivia and Cecile standing in the hallway - dressed for dinner. "Ladies," he politely greeted. "Dinner is ready."

Both women nodded mutely and entered the penthouse. Judging from their expressions, neither seemed to be in a positive mood. Cecile wore a sullen expression. And Olivia looked as if someone had stunned her with a cattle prod. Cole shot a quick glance at Andre and noticed that the latter did not look any happier. The half-demon sighed. It promised to be a long night. And difficult.

Daley closed the book on her kitchen table, with an air of satisfaction. Then she held up the amulet that hung around her neck. She had no idea that the object she now possessed, held so much power. The amulet, created by a dominion spirit named Caspiel. According to the book she had just finished reading, Caspiel's amulet blocked the magical and psychic abilities of all beings - aside from fellow dominion spirits. Caspiel had also created a dagger that could kill any being - magical or otherwise with a mere stab wound. That is . . . any being aside from a dominion spirit or deity. Apparently, Caspiel had lost track of both the amulet and the dagger, a long time ago. Daley wondered if he still existed.

The amulet did present one problem. Olivia McNeill had spotted it. And seemed very curious, when Daley tried her level best to make sure that she did not have a chance to examine. The Vodoun sorceress realized that she had to do something about that. Killing the witch seemed out of the question. At least for the moment. However, replacing the amulet with another that bore a strong resemblance seems like a possible solution. Not only would Daley be able to fake out the curious witch, she could hide the genuine amulet in a pocket.

A quick glance at the calendar on the kitchen wall told Daley that the half-moon would arrive on the day after tomorrow. She had everything needed to perform the ritual - except for one item. A strand or two of Wyatt Halliwell's hair from his hairbrush should do the trick.

Once she manages to acquire the infant's powers, one last task was needed to complete the ritual. Namely the baby's death. Daley winced inwardly at the idea of killing a nine month-old baby. But it had to be done. With Wyatt still alive, the danger of someone reversing the ritual would remain constant. Especially since the baby's mother happened to be acquainted with a Vodoun priest and priestess. The moment she finally possess the infant's powers, Daley would have to kill Wyatt. The only question remained was . . . how.

Cole woke up the following morning with great reluctance. He would prefer to remain in bed. Especially after last night's near disastrous dinner. But he had a job to deal with. And there was the conversation that he and Andre needed to finish.

Hardly a soul had exchanged a word, last night. Except to praise Cole's cooking. Or comment about some recent incident - like Cecile's business deal with the McNeills or the latest demonic attack upon Wyatt Halliwell. Olivia had brought up the subject of Wyatt's new nanny, but one glare from Cecile had ended the topic. Yet, not once did anyone discuss the cause of the tension that had sprung up between the two couples. With emotions seemingly at the breaking point, no one dared.

Once Olivia and Cecile had left, Cole had intended to finish his conversation with Andre. Only, the houngan decided that he needed a breath of fresh air and left for a walk. By the time he had returned, Cole was fast asleep.

After the half-demon took his morning shower and dressed for work, he went into one of the guest bedrooms to talk with Andre. Only the houngan was nowhere to be found. Either the latter had failed to return from his walk. Or Andre had left early to avoid another conversation. Cole heaved a frustrated sigh and continued to finish preparing for work. After gathering his trench coat and suitcase, he beamed to the floor below the penthouse and rang the doorbell to Olivia's apartment.

The redhead immediately opened the door. "Hi," she greeted quietly.

"Hi." Cole flashed a brief smile before exchanging a light kiss with Olivia. "Is Cecile ready?"

Olivia's expression became strained. "She will be in a few minutes." Then she stepped aside, and allowed Cole to enter the apartment. Once she closed the door, she added, "Uh . . . I realize that it seemed a bit strained at dinner, yesterday. And the reason is that Cecile had told me some weird ass news. It seems she plans to break . . ."

". . . break up with Andre," Cole grimly finished. Olivia's green eyes widened in surprise. "Yeah, she told me the day before yesterday."

"What? You mean to say that she told you first?"

Cole sighed. "Olivia, I had noticed that she had been acting weird, so I dragged it out of her." He paused. "And I just told Andre, yesterday."

Shaking her head, Olivia commented, "No wonder he seemed subdued, last night. So much for his plans for a wedding."

"Oh, so he also told you about that?" Cole heaved another sigh. "Hmmm. Well, I guess it won't happen, after all. Just as well, I guess."

Olivia stared at him. "What do you mean by that?"

Oh God! "What I mean is . . ." Cole broke off, as Cecile entered the living room.

The New Orleans woman eyed the couple suspiciously. "What's going on with you two?" she demanded.

"Nothing." Cole returned her gaze with an innocent expression. He wondered if the Vodoun priestess knew that he and Olivia had been discussing about her and Andre. "Are you ready?"

Cecile murmured in a morose voice, "Yeah. Let's go." Before she reached the door, she stopped abruptly and glanced around. "By the way," she said with a frown, "where's Andre?"

"He wasn't in his room, when I woke up," Cole answered. "I guess he decided to head for Olivia's shop a little early."

Olivia added, "It's possible. He has a key."

Cecile sniffed. "Hmmm. Well, let's go." She started toward the door. Cole followed. "See you, Livy."

As he followed Cecile into the hallway, Cole overheard Olivia's voice. "I'll call around lunch." But Cecile was already halfway down the corridor.

A quick glance at the radio clock on her night table told Phoebe that it was thirty-seven minutes past eight, this morning. And that she was running late. She bit back a frustrated sigh and continued to dress. Since it seemed obvious that she would not make it to the office on time, she might as well not bother to rush.

Once she finished dressing, the middle Charmed One picked up her purse and briefcase, and left her bedroom. She marched along the hallway, when she heard humming from one of the bedrooms. From Wyatt's nursery. Phoebe decided that a quick good-bye kiss to her nephew would not hurt. She peeked inside the room and found Wyatt fully awake and playing with a red ball inside his crib. The new nanny sat in a nearby chair, fiddling with Wyatt's hairbrush.

"Good morning!" Phoebe cheerfully greeted.

Ms. Thompson - or Donna, as she preferred to be called - glanced up with a gasp on her lips. "Oh! Uh . . . good morning. Um . . . don't you usually leave a little earlier?"

"I'm running a bit late, this morning." Phoebe strode into the nursery. "That's a nice tune you were humming. I've never heard it, before."

Donna's shoulders sagged with relief. Curious. "Oh that," she replied. "It's just an old tune that my mama used to sing to me. I think it goes back to the time of slavery."

"Oh . . . uh, how . . ." Nearly at a loss for words, Phoebe finished lamely, "how historic. Huh. Oh well. I . . . I just wanted to say good-bye to Wyatt." She approached the crib and lifted her nephew from the crib and into her arms. Then she rocked him for a few seconds, before planting a light kiss on his forehead. "I'll see you later, young man," she said in a baby voice. Phoebe returned Wyatt to inside his crib and turned to Donna. "I guess I'll be seeing you later."

The nanny responded with a polite nod. Phoebe headed for the door. For some unexplainable reason, she paused and glanced behind her. And saw Donna remove a strand of hair from Wyatt's brush and place it on . . . something. A handkerchief? A piece of paper? Suspicion welled within the Charmed One. What did Donna want with . . .?

"Phoebe!" Piper's voice cried from downstairs. "Let's go! You're already ten minutes late!"

Donna glanced up. Phoebe shot the nanny a quick smile and disappeared into the hallway. The Charmed One found her older sister in the foyer, donning a suede jacket. "Well, it's about time!" Piper grumbled. "Next time, learn to set your clock before you go to bed. What the hell happened to you, this morning?"

A breathless Phoebe reached for her coat. "It's nothing. I . . ." Memories of Donna's actions continued to tug at her thoughts. "Piper, are you sure that you did the right thing in hiring Donna?"

Piper frowned at the younger woman. "What? Did you have a premonition or something?"

"No, I . . ." Phoebe hesitated, before she proceeded to tell her sister what she had witnessed just a few minutes ago.

A mixture of disbelief and scorn filled Piper's dark eyes. "C'mon Phoebe! You've got to be kidding! You're suspicious of Donna, because she was cleaning Wyatt's hairbrush?"

"I think she was placing his hair in a handkerchief, or a napkin or something," Phoebe indignantly shot back. "Don't you find that strange?" She donned her coat.

"No. But I do thank her for being neat," Piper sarcastically replied. "Phoebe, has it ever occurred to you that she was preventing Wyatt's hair from falling on the floor?"

Phoebe opened her mouth to protest, but could not find an argument to Piper's suggestion. "I guess not."

"Okay honey," Piper said, patting Phoebe's shoulder. "You've had your shot at being Nancy Drew for the day. It's time for you to be 'Dear Phoebe'. Let's get to work."

A sigh left Phoebe's mouth, as she followed her older sister out of the door.

The moment that Phoebe Halliwell's figure disappeared from the doorway, Daley heaved a heartfelt sigh of relief. Talk about close call! For a moment, she feared that the amulet no longer worked on the seer.

She overheard the front door slam shut. The Vodoun smiled and resumed her task. After removing the last strand of hair from Wyatt's brush, she placed it on the handkerchief in her lap. Then she folded the piece of cloth and placed it, inside her purse. 

Daley's smile stretched wider. Mission accomplished.

END OF PART VII 


	8. Part VIII

"THE POWER OF ONE" by RFK

PART VIII

"Are you sure that he's here?" Elise McNeill asked her granddaughter. The two women climbed out of Olivia's BMW convertible and approached the Union Square shop.

Olivia sighed. "I don't know. Last I heard, Andre went for a walk, last night. And according to Cole, he was missing this morning." She placed her hand on the shop's doorknob. It turned easily. "I guess he is here." Olivia opened the door and the two witches entered. "Hello? Andre?"

The houngan emerged from the back of the shop. "Yeah, I'm here." Andre strode toward the women.

"How long have you been here?" Gran demanded.

"Since five-thirty, this morning." Andre paused, looking slightly uncomfortable. "I had trouble sleeping."

Olivia sighed. "I knew I shouldn't have told you about Cecile!"

Shaking his head, Andre replied, "No, no! It's okay. At least I won't have to waste my time with a wedding proposal."

Both women reacted with distress at Andre's remark. "You can't be serious!" Oliva protested. "I mean . . . don't you have a ring selected? Gran told me."

Andre leaned against one of the shelves. "Yeah, I know. But since Cecile's no longer interested in me . . ."

"Before you decide that's true," Gran said, interrupting, "why don't you see how Cecile will react to your proposal?"

Olivia added, "May I see the ring?"

With a sigh, Andre moved away from the shelf and headed over to the one of the display cases filled with jewelry. He picked up an object and handed it over to Olivia. "That the ring I had planned to give to Cecile."

A quick appraisal by Olivia enabled her to recognize that the ring had a French design and that it dated sometime back in the seventeenth century. She had studied Art History, back in college. "Very nice," she murmured. "There's nothing supernatural about it, is there?"

"No," Andre quickly said. "It's perfectly fine." He sighed. "So, you think I should ask her to marry me, anyway?"

Both women answered at the same time, "Yes!"

Andre turned to Olivia. "Well Livy, you're about to make your first profit. I understand that the ring costs around a hundred-and-eighty dollars."

Olivia walked over to the cash register. "I'll get the receipt pad and cash box. By the way, did you guys find anything interesting?"

Gran replied, "We found a lot of interesting items. Especially that dagger with those markings on the hilt. Remember Andre?"

Looking slightly distracted, Andre nodded. "Oh. Yeah, I . . . uh, remember. The dagger that belonged to a dominion spirit."

"A what?" Andre's news took Olivia by surprise. "Did you say a dominion spirit?" She placed a tin box and the receipt pad on the counter. "Did anyone touch it?"

Gran added, "Andre did."

"And he didn't burn? Or get hurt any other way?" Olivia shook her head in disbelief. "Objects like that contain great power, and they usually affect beings who are lesser than dominion spirits - daemons of all kind . . . and mortals." She paused. "Did the marking show to whom the dagger originally belonged?"

Andre snapped out of his distracted state. "I'll show you." He disappeared toward the back of the shop, while Olivia began to write the receipt for the ring. A few minutes later, the houngan returned with a bejeweled dagger.

Olivia reached out to take the dagger. Gran exclaimed, "No Livy! Don't touch the . . ." She broke off, as her granddaughter grabbed hold of the dagger. "Goddess! You two?" She frowned. "I don't understand. Neither of you were affected."

"Maybe you're wrong about it belonging to a dominion spirit," Olivia said, as she examined the dagger's hilt.

Shaking her head, Gran replied, "I can't be. I saw the marking, myself. It belonged to Caspiel."

"The dominion spirit associated with fire?" Olivia asked.

Realization lit up the elderly witch's gray-blue eyes. "Of course! That's why you two . . ." She turned to Andre. "Are any of your psi powers based on the fire element?"

Andre frowned. "Well, I'm an atmoskinetic. Which means that two of the powers I control - fire and electricity - are based on the fire element."

"And Livy is a fire witch," Gran finished. "No wonder you two weren't affected. If that dagger had come from a dominion spirit associated with another element - like Carnesiel, who deals with the spirit element - you would have been in serious danger."

Olivia turned the dagger over and spotted the marking on the bottom of the hilt. She gasped. "Is this Caspiel's mark?" she demanded.

"Yeah," Andre answered. "Why?"

"I think I may have seen it, before. On something else." And idea came to the red-haired witch. "I've got to go." She returned the dagger to Andre and headed for the shop's entrance.

Gran demanded, "Where are you going?"

"To the station. There's someone I need to check on."

--------

The images of Donna Thompson removing hair from Wyatt's brush continued to plague Phoebe's mind. She found herself becoming so obsessed with the new nanny that she found it difficult to do her work.

Why did Donna's actions bother her? Why did a knot in her stomach form every time she thought about the other woman? Piper had been right about one thing. There was nothing sinister about cleaning a baby's hairbrush. So, why did she feel there was? Had it something to do with Donna's reaction, when she had entered the nursery? Or that flash of guilt and fear in the other woman's eyes?

Phoebe shook her head. She realized that she was allowing her imagination to get the best of her. If Donna had really wanted to harm Wyatt, she could have done it by now. Besides, the woman did help Piper save Wyatt from a demonic attack. If she had been interviewed before the demon, Piper would have been dead and Wyatt . . .

The middle Charmed One's thoughts came to a screeching halt. "If she had been interviewed before the demon . . ." Of course! Phoebe shot out of her chair, as the epiphany struck her.

Donna must have arranged for the demon to attack Piper. Phoebe recalled her older sister stating that the Vodoun priestess had been the last to arrive that morning. It all made sense. Donna finds out about Wyatt and the position for his nanny. She arranges for a demon to pose as an applicant. Both the priestess and the demon make arrangements on the order of arrival. The demon attacks Piper. Donna comes to Piper's rescue. Only Donna double-crosses her partner and helps Piper vanquish the demon before the latter can escape. And the priestess is hailed as a heroine and rewarded with the position of Wyatt's nanny. Only . . . only Donna has not made any move against Wyatt. And Phoebe could not help but wonder why. Had Donna's lack of action anything to do with future plans that involved Wyatt's hair?

She had to warn Piper. Now. Phoebe reached for the telephone and dialed the number to P3. An employee answered and informed her that Piper was in a meeting with a liquor merchant, at the moment, and could not be disturbed. Frustrated, Phoebe hung up and reached for her purse and coat. As she marched out of her office, her editor - Elise Rothman - materialized in her path toward the elevators. "Where are you going?" the older woman demanded.

"Lunch," Phoebe replied. "I'm taking an early lunch, today."

Elise glanced at her watch. "At ten forty-five in the morning? Aren't you a bit early for lunch?" Her dark eyes penetrated Phoebe's.

Oh shit! Phoebe realized that the editor had decided to become difficult, today. "Well . . . yeah. But see, I have this family emergency . . ."

"What kind of family emergency?"

"Um . . . Piper. She's . . ." For once, Phoebe's imagination failed her.

Elise smirked. "When you can remember the nature of your . . . family emergency, let me know. Meanwhile, I think you can forgo your early lunch for today."

Annoyed by the older woman's tone, Phoebe protested. "Elise! I'm not a schoolgirl, you know! So, do you mind not treating me like one?"

"I'm treating you like an employee who had been forty minutes late for work, this morning!" Elise retorted. Her stare remained relentless. "Now, unless you can provide me with a genuine excuse, I suggest that you continue work."

For a brief moment, Phoebe felt tempted to use the "boyfriend" care. But instinct told her that Jason would not cooperate. Especially after a few employees had spotted them indulging in foreplay inside her office, two weeks ago. She realized that if she had decided to use Jason to get her way, the other employees - especially Elise - would resent her. And make her life at work, miserable. A sigh left Phoebe's mouth. "Fine. I'll stay."

"Good." Elise flashed a bright smile at the younger woman and continued on her way. Unless she can find a way to contact Piper, Phoebe realized that the next hour and ten minutes might prove to be very long.

------------

Darryl strolled into the squad room, followed by two members of his team - Carlotta Trujillo and Marcus Anderson. While the other two went toward their desks to deal with a suspect they had just arrested, the police lieutenant was surprised to find his partner seated behind her desk, staring at a computer screen.

"Olivia? What are you doing here?" he demanded, as he sat down in the chair, next to the redhead's desk. "I thought that you had taken the day off to work in your shop?"

Her eyes still glued to the computer screen, Olivia curtly replied, "I did. An emergency had popped up. Regarding a certain nanny."

"Huh?" Confusion whirled in Darryl's brain, until he realized that Olivia had referred to Piper Halliwell's new nanny. "Wait a minute. Are you talking about Wyatt's new nanny? What about her?"

Olivia glanced up. "There's something strange about her. Something I can't put my finger on. And it has to do with an amulet that had allegedly been destroyed and a dagger in my shop." Darryl's partner then told him about her suspicions that had arisen from the nanny's odd behavior and a magical dagger that bore a mark to the one she had spotted on the nanny's amulet. "I'm checking our records to see if there's anything on Donna Thompson."

"And?"

With a sigh, Olivia finished, "So far, nothing. Well, I did come across three Donna Thompsons. But none match the description of Wyatt's nanny. Also, one of them is dead."

Darryl made a suggestion. "Why don't you check the Department of Motor Vehicles?"

Olivia did as he had suggested. Within less than ten minutes, the pair received Donna Thompson's DMV records. They also discovered that the nanny lived in the city's Bernal Heights neighborhood. And that she had been born on March 14, 1968, in Oakland, California. The birth date seemed to have struck a familiar note with Olivia. "Wait a minute," she murmured under her breath. "That date."

"What is it?" Darryl asked.

The witch minimized the DMV page, before returning to the police department's records. Olivia typed in the nanny's name. Darryl gasped as he read the file. One of the Donna Thompsons in the Department files had also been born on March 14, 1968. In Oakland. Only this Miss Thompson had died on January 21, 1996. "I'll be damned," Darryl murmured.

"No kidding," Olivia shot back, as she smiled broadly. "I've got her! Two Donna Thompsons born on the same day and in the same city? How often does that happen?" She switched back to the DMV site. "The driver license for our Miss Thompson will expire in March 2008. Which means that her last license had expired in 2002. Now, that previous license had been effective between March 1996 and March 2002. Which means that she had received this previous license about two months after the other Donna Thompson's death."

Darryl shook his head. "You know, this reminds me of Rex Buckland and Hannah Webster."

"Who?"

"They were two warlocks who had gained control of the auction house that Prue worked at, some five years ago. These warlocks had murdered the real Rex Buckland and Hannah Webster, before assuming their identities. It could be that your Donna Thompson may have done the same. What does the Department's files say about the dead Donna?"

Olivia returned to the police database. She whistled. "Wow! For someone who had died two months short of her 28th birthday, she sure led a full life. Arrested four times for possession of drugs between the ages of sixteen and twenty. She spent three years at the Valley State Prison for Women for pushing cocaine. Arrested in October 1995 for drug trafficking. Unfortunately, no conviction could be made. Three weeks after she was acquitted, someone murdered her by filling her capsules with drain cleaner. Probably her employer."

A stunned expression appeared on Darryl's face. "Wait a minute! Are you saying that Wyatt's new nanny might be some kind of drug dealer?"

"Of course not!" Olivia protested. Then she hesitated. "Then again . . . I don't know. But I do have a gut feeling that the real name of Wyatt's nanny is not Donna Thompson. I think she may have been using that name to avoid detection."

Darryl shook his head. "Yeah, but there's something I don't understand. She's already close to Wyatt. She's been close for the past three or four days. What the hell is she waiting for?"

Olivia sighed. "I wish I knew, Darryl. I wish I knew. And I dread the moment when we find out before it's too late."

END OF PART VIII 


	9. Part IX

"THE POWER OF ONE" by RFK

PART IX

McNeill Corporation's corporate officers filed out of the boardroom, as they chatted happily over the new deal that had been reached. Even Cecile felt better than she had in the past week. Especially since her business deal with the corporation had concluded successfully. Crescent Software's list of clients has just spread beyond the Lower Mississippi Valley and the Southeast to include the West Coast. Cecile allowed herself a smile, as she followed Cole and the McNeills to the CEO's office.

"That went off well," Jack McNeill declared, as he settled into the leather chair behind his desk. "Once the contracts are signed and processed, we can set about arranging training sessions for our employees. Um . . ."

Cecile interrupted. "I suppose we can discuss the training schedules, later. Can we?"

Harry corrected, "Sure. But just to let you know, your employees can train our tech people who are employed at the corporate level. After that . . ."

"You will provide training to all of your companies," Cecile finished. "That's fine with me. But right now, I feel like celebrating."

Cole shot her a penetrating glance. "Well, you're certainly in a good mood, today. A first this week, isn't it?"

Cecile's smile faltered, thanks to the half-demon's cool observation. She suspected that he was thinking about Andre. "Yeah," she said, staring at him. "I guess I am." Cole looked away. "Of course, I . . ." Her cell phone rang. Cecile retrieved it from her purse. "Excuse me. Hello?"

"Hey Cecile, it's me! Olivia! Are you busy?" The redhead's voice rang in her ear. "I've been trying to get a hold of you for the past hour."

The Vodoun priestess commented, "I've had my cell phone turned off. What do you need?"

"I'm just calling to let you know that I'll have to take a rain check on our lunch, today," Olivia continued. "Something has come up."

Suspicion glimmered in the back of Cecile's mind. "Does that something have to do with Donna Thompson?"

A brief hesitation on Olivia's part followed, before she finally answered, "As a matter of fact . . . yeah. It does. Why? Do you want to help?"

Cecile glanced at Cole. "Well, I was thinking about lunch with Cole and Harry."

"Bring them along. Especially Cole."

"Uh . . ." Cecile faced the others. "I'll ask." She removed the cell phone from her ear. "Are any of you guys interested in helping Olivia with a little investigation, this afternoon?"

Harry answered, "Sorry, but I have an appointment. Business."

"So do I," Mr. McNeill added.

Once more, Cecile glanced at the half-demon. "Cole?"

He shrugged. "Sure. Why not? My schedule is free."

"Cole and I will join you," Cecile informed Olivia. "Where do you want to meet for . . .?"

Olivia told her. "Meet me at P3 in about an hour from now. I have to get something from my apartment. I'll see you then."

"I'll see you." Cecile disconnected her telephone. Then she turned to Cole. "Olivia wants us to meet her at P3."

Looking slightly confused, Cole demanded, "Why? By any chance does this have to do with Wyatt's new nanny? I remember her trying to talk about this Donna, during last night's dinner."

Cecile sighed. "I'm afraid so. Olivia had an encounter with her, yesterday. And now she's become paranoid over the woman. And when she gets like . . ."

"Yes, we all know how Olivia can be when her paranoia gets the best of her," Mr. McNeill wearily added.

Cole murmured, "But she usually turns out to be right."

"Can't deny the truth," Mr. McNeill shot back. Then he added, "By the way, Gwen and I will be holding a little cocktail party, tomorrow night. To celebrate today's deal. It'll start around seven."

Cecile frowned. "Not tonight?"

"Our coven is holding a meeting, tonight. At Phil Bannen's home."

"Oh. I'll be there." Cecile turned to Cole. "Ready?" The half-demon nodded, as he and the Vodoun priestess bid the McNeills good-bye, before setting out for their new destination.

---------

Family always mattered to the Halliwells. It certainly mattered to Piper, who loved her family very much. But there were moments when her family could be the biggest pain in her ass. Like now.

"Phoebe," the oldest Charmed One said in her most patient voice, "please stop this. Please? I'm trying to finish this inventory of liquor and you're still going on about Donna."

The younger woman had dropped by the nightclub to invite Piper for lunch. Unfortunately, the club owner had no choice but to decline her sister's offer due to her heavy workload. Between checking the inventory, booking new acts for the next two months and finding a new manager, Piper really had no time for ninety minute lunches. But instead of leaving, Phoebe decided to hang around the club . . . and nag her to death about her son's new nanny.

"But Piper, don't you find it strange that she was the last applicant to arrive? One would say that it was pretty convenient that she was around to help you vanquish that . . ." Phoebe glanced around to ensure that no one could hear them. ". . . that demon."

Piper rolled her eyes. "A demon that she had allegedly hired to attack me?"

"Yeah."

"Phoebe, if Donna had hired a demon to attack us, why did she help me vanquish him? Why did he attack her?" The younger sister's mouth fell open. Piper moved in for the kill. "With me dead, no one could have stopped Donna and that demon from taking Wyatt. But that didn't happen, Phoebe. I'm alive and we still have Wyatt with his powers intact - thanks to Donna. And she hasn't made a move in the past few days. Can you explain that?"

Uncertainty replaced the fervent gleam in Phoebe's eyes. "I don't know, Piper. But I can't help how I feel. There's just something wrong about her."

"Something wrong about whom?" a third voice asked. Both Piper and Phoebe looked up and saw two figures descend the nightclub's staircase. It was Cole and Cecile. As usual, Phoebe's face turned slightly pink at the sight of her former husband. The two newcomers approached the sisters. Cole added, "Were you two talking about someone?"

Phoebe remained silent, while Piper sighed. "Wyatt's new nanny. Donna. Phoebe thinks there's something suspicious about her."

"Oh no!" Cecile groaned. "Phoebe too?"

Piper frowned. "What do you mean?"

The Vodoun priestess continued, "Olivia is also suspicious. Something to do with a necklace or amulet that she thinks your nanny has."

An uneasy thought entered Piper's mind at Cecile's mention of an amulet. "Are you saying that Olivia believes that Donna has that demon's amulet?"

Footsteps clattered on the staircase. Seconds later, Olivia appeared before them, carrying a thick book. "Hi guys! What's going on?"

"You tell us," Cole said, as he greeted her with a light kiss. "You asked us to join you here."

Piper added, "We're talking about Donna. Whom everyone seems to think has designs on my son. And now, Cecile tells us that you're also suspicious."

Olivia placed the book on the bar's flat surface. "And you're not?"

"What for? She hasn't done anything! I've been trying to tell Phoebe, but she won't listen."

Phoebe retorted, "She hasn't done anything . . . yet. For all we know, she might be biding her time. I mean, this is Wyatt we're talking about. Donna probably has some special potion to strip his powers."

"Or a special ritual," Cecile added. Everyone stared at her. "Look, I'm no more suspicious than Piper. So far, I haven't sensed anything threatening about her and I'm a telepath. But if this Donna is planning on stealing Wyatt's powers, she would probably use some kind of ritual. I know I would."

Feeling slightly annoyed, Piper exclaimed, "Okay, this has gone too far! Neither Phoebe or Olivia have any real proof that Donna has some . . . 'nefarious' scheme planned for Wyatt. Or do you?"

Olivia exchanged a glance with Phoebe before she declared, "Well . . . here's something that you might find interesting. Did you know there are . . . or were two Donna Thompsons born on March 14, 1968? One of them died back in 1996 and the other happens to be Wyatt's new nanny."

Everyone - including Piper - stared at the redhead. "Meaning?" the oldest Charmed One asked, feeling suddenly uneasy.

The other witch revealed what she had learned from the city's police records and the Department of Motor Vehicles. "I can understand if there are more than one Donna Thompson in the world. But two that were born on the same day? And in the same city? What's even more suspicious is the fact that I could only find two driver's licenses issued to your new nanny. And the first one had been issued about two months after the other Donna's death. I don't know about the rest of you, but that seems to be taking coincidence a bit too far. Don't you think?"

Stunned by Olivia's revelation, Piper exclaimed, "Are you trying to tell us that my son's nanny is a fake?" The red-haired witch merely responded with a silent shrug.

"I think that's exactly what Olivia is trying to tell us," Phoebe added. "I haven't been able to sense any emotions from her for the past two days or so."

Piper retorted caustically, "Lucky woman!"

"I'm serious, Piper. I haven't sensed anything from her. And considering my lack of control over my empathy, I should be able to."

Sighing, Piper demanded, "So, what are you saying? That Donna isn't even human?"

"There's a good chance," Phoebe murmured. Piper glared at her. "What?"

"Nothing!" Then, "I just . . . I just find it hard to believe that Donna is a demon. I mean, that demon who had attacked me, nearly killed her."

Phoebe shot back, "I wouldn't be surprised if your nanny had arranged that little attack."

Olivia opened the book that she had placed on the bar. "I don't know if she's a demon or not. I'm still wondering about the demon that had attacked you."

"Is that your Book of Shadows?" Piper asked, staring at the thick book.

"Yeah. I wondered if you would be able to identify him."

Piper shook her head. "I've already checked our Book of Shadows. He wasn't in there."

"But he might be in mine," Olivia added. "Your description of him reminded me of someone I had once seen about fifteen or sixteen years ago."

Believing that she was wasting her time, Piper heaved a sigh, as she began to peruse Olivia's book. To her surprise, it did not take long for her to find the demon that had attacked her. Olivia had added a rather well drawn sketching the demon on the book's 14th page. "Oh my God," she murmured. "That's him! That's the demon who had . . ." She stared at Olivia. "How did you . . .?"

"I had spotted him during a family trip to Scotland," Olivia said. "Just before he had killed an old friend of my grandfather and Cousin Keith's. A wizard named Adolphus Grant. Since I was the only one who had spotted him, I added a drawing of him in my Book of Shadows. Only, no one knew his name."

Cole approached the bar and peered at the book. "I know him," he commented. His name is . . . or was Nairn. A demonic assassin. A soldier-of-fortune."

"Like you used to be," Phoebe added. Piper noticed the plaintive tone in Phoebe's voice.

Apparently, Cole did not. He continued, "Actually, I was never really a soldier-of-fortune. Especially since I had worked for the Source. And the Thorn Brotherhood directly. Nairn, on the other hand, was a true soldier-of-fortune. He worked for anyone who would hire him. He had been on the Source's hit list for over forty years. Ever since he killed the head of the Lehme Brotherhood, back in the late 50s."

Curiosity gleamed in Cecile's dark eyes. "He managed to kill the head of a demonic order?"

"Don't ask me how he did it," Cole said with a shake of his head. "Granted, Nairn was a top assassin. But he was also a mid-level demon. His assassination of Bosaal became the talk of the Source's Realm over the next forty-two years." The half-demon assumed a rueful expression. "Until I killed the Triad."

"Why would he risk the Source's vengeance with such a job?" Olivia asked. "Who hired him?"

Cole replied, "It turned out that a powerful witch coven in Norway had hired Nairn to kill Bosaal. The latter had killed their leader in order to steal their sigil. Which is supposed to be a source of great power for the coven. The coven summoned and hired Nairn, who completed his job. After Bosaal's death, the Source retaliated by putting zoltars on his trail and tried to destroy the coven. Unfortunately, Nairn killed every zoltar who crossed his path. And the coven proved difficult to destroy. Only a few members were killed, but their sigil proved to be very effective in protecting them."

Phoebe stared at her former husband in shock. "Wait a minute! Are you saying that witches had hired a demonic assassin?"

"Yeah." Cole nodded. "And Nairn completed the job. Just as I had told you."

"But witches?" Phoebe paused, and shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe that they would . . . Were they evil witches?"

Cole rolled his eyes in contempt. "Sorry Phoebe," he said sarcastically, "but the Bla Mane Coven are known throughout the Asatru world as decent witches. The death of their leader had . . . somewhat affected them, I think. At least the coven's council members. Besides, didn't Prue and Piper once work with a zoltar to hunt me down? And none of you didn't mind working with me, for a while."

Oh God! Piper heaved a mental sigh. She always tends to forget about Krell, the zoltar who had been after Cole after the latter had killed the Triad. She began to fear that little alliance might haunt them forever.

"Oh yeah," Phoebe murmured. "Krell. I forgot about him."

Piper added sarcastically, "I wish I could."

Cecile continued, "So, this Nairn had no trouble being hired by witches? I'm surprised that he didn't try to double-cross them in the end."

Cole replied, "The Bla Mane witches had something to offer Nairn in return for Bosaal's death. Which is why he didn't double-cross them. Besides, he's not in the habit of double-crossing his clients. That's how he stayed in business for nearly a century."

"Too bad his last client didn't follow the same policy," Phoebe muttered.

Cecile shot back, "You don't know if Donna Whatshername had hired this Nairn."

"Isn't it obvious?"

The frowning Vodoun priestess retorted, "How? How is it obvious? Look, I'm not denying that there is something suspicious about Wyatt's nanny. And I'm not denying that she could have hired that demon. But we don't know for a fact that she did. And before we start assuming, I suggest we find more proof."

Hands on her hips, Phoebe glared at Cecile. "What more proof do you need?"

Cecile glared back. "A hell of a lot more than you do! Has anyone ever told you that you have a bad habit of jumping to conclusions?"

Phoebe opened her mouth to retort, but Olivia interrupted. "I'm more interested in what the Bla Mane coven may have given to Nairn." She turned to Cole. "Do you have any idea what they gave him?"

Cole shook his head. "Sorry, I haven't the foggiest idea." His eyes narrowed. "What do you think they gave him?"

With a shrug of her shoulders, Olivia replied, "An amulet perhaps? One that once belonged to a dominion spirit named Caspiel?" Everyone stared at Olivia, as she revealed what she had noticed about Donna's necklace, yesterday. Along with her grandmother's book on the supernatural and her knowledge of dominion spirits.

The revelation flabbergasted Piper. She could not believe her ears. "Dominion spirits? Why hasn't Leo ever told us about them? And if this Nairn had been wearing the amulet of one . . . Oh my God! No wonder I couldn't just easily vanquish him!" She frowned at Olivia. "You really think that Donna now has the amulet?"

Olivia sighed. "I don't know, Piper. I don't know for certain that she has it. For all we know, it might still be somewhere inside your house. But if the amulet had originally belonged to a dominion spirit, I doubt very much that it had been destroyed, when you and Donna killed Nairn."

Piper glanced at her watch. It read twelve fifty-one. "So . . . I suppose you want to check to see if she has that amulet?"

Again, Olivia shrugged. "It would be a good idea."

END OF PART IX 


	10. Part X

"THE POWER OF ONE" by RFK

PART X

Phoebe could not accompany her sisters and the other three to the Halliwell manor, since she had to return to work. But the other four found themselves standing outside the salmon-colored house nearly a half hour later.

The two witches, the Vodoun priestess and the half-demon entered the house, as Piper cried out Donna's name. When a faint voice responded, the quartet headed toward the Solarium. There they found the nanny on the sofa with her charge, watching television. Donna glanced up and smiled. "Piper! What are you doing here?"

"Oh, uh . . ." The Charmed One became speechless, for Olivia had suggested that they did not directly confront the nanny. 

Olivia came to Piper's rescue. "I'm here to borrow some herbs from Piper. We just came back from lunch."

Piper smiled weakly. "That's it. Uh, you remember Olivia and Cecile, don't you? Paige told me that you had met them."

Donna smiled at the redhead and the black woman. "Oh yeah. Nice to see you, again." Then her gaze turned to Cole.

"Oh," Piper added, "and this is Cole. Cole Turner. He's Olivia's boyfriend. Cole, this is Donna Thompson. Wyatt's new nanny." Olivia noted that the Charmed One failed to mention the half-demon's past link to the Halliwell family.

The nanny smiled at Cole. "Nice to meet you."

"Same here," Cole replied politely.

"So," Piper continued, "how is Wyatt doing?" She reached for her son, who had been sitting in Donna's lap contentedly. As Piper drew Wyatt into her arms, he gurgled happily. "Hel-lo sweetie! How are you? Hmmm. Well, he seems to be doing fine."

Donna added, "Aren't you going to get those herbs for Olivia?"

"Huh?" Piper's eyes widened in confusion. It took all of Olivia's efforts not to roll her eyes at the Charmed One's attempt at deception. She noticed that both Cole and Cecile did not bother suppress their efforts.

Olivia then spied an empty glass of water on a nearby table, and an idea came to her. "While you're at it, Piper, could you get me a glass of water?"

The other witch nodded. "Sure." Then Piper left the Solarium, while Olivia and her other two companions indulged in small talk with the nanny. Cole politely talked about his job at the law firm, and his relationship with Olivia. Cecile talked about Vodoun practices in New Orleans and Olivia regaled the nanny with hers and Cole's experiences in babysitting Wyatt - much to Cole's embarrassment. Eventually, Piper returned with a glass of water for Olivia. And a brown paper bag.

"Thanks," Olivia said to Piper. Then she deliberately paused and glanced at Donna's neck. "Oh by the way, Piper. You should see Donna's necklace. I saw it yesterday, and it's gorgeous. Right Donna?" She smiled at the nanny.

Donna's eyes blinked. "Huh?"

Olivia pointed at the leather strap around the nanny's neck. "Your necklace. The one that you had dropped, yesterday. Why don't you show it to the others?"

Donna hesitated. "Well . . ." The other three stared at her. "I guess. Uh, it's . . ." Slowly, she withdrew the object from underneath her blouse. "I bought it at the Red Pyramid. It's supposed to be some kind of ward against evil. After that daemon had attacked us, I thought it would come in handy."

Olivia peered at the amulet. It took one glance for her to realize that it was not the one that Donna had worn, yesterday. Obviously, the other woman had made a switch. Or the other amulet was somewhere hidden in a pocket or something.

Both Piper and Cecile glanced at Olivia, before gazing at the amulet around Donna's neck. "Very nice," Cecile commented. "Don't you think, Piper?"

The Charmed One added, "Yeah. But . . ." She directed her gaze at Donna. "But why keep it around your neck?"

"Like I said, it's a protection ward," Donna explained. "Don't want to expose it, if I'm attacked."

"Oh." Piper handed the glass of water and paper bag to Olivia. "This is for you."

Keeping her disappointment in check, Olivia began to drink her water. Wyatt picked up a small rubber ball and threw it at Cole, attracting everyone's attention. Olivia glanced at the empty glass on the nearby table, and an idea came to her. While the others continued to focus on Wyatt, she dumped the rest of her water into a potted plant. Then she placed her glass on the table, whipped out her handkerchief and snatched up Donna's empty glass. As she quickly stuffed the glass into her purse, Cole glanced at her. He frowned. Then Olivia glanced at her watch. "Oh, I better be getting back." The others stared at her. "Say Piper, could you give me a lift back to the store?"

"Uh . . . sure." Piper turned to Cole and Cecile. "You guys need a lift as well?"

Cecile nodded, while Cole replied, "I wouldn't mind." He continued to stare at Olivia.

The four people then bid both Donna and Wyatt good-bye and left the manor. As they marched down the stoop leading to the sidewalk, Piper asked, "Was that the amulet that you saw?"

Olivia shook her head. "Either she had switched amulets, or I was mistaken. It did look similar to the one that she wore, yesterday."

"So much for Wyatt's nanny being a danger," Cecile commented.

"I'm not so sure." Olivia reached the black jeep, first.

Cole added, "I assume you're talking about that glass that you had put in her purse." Olivia smiled at him.

Piper frowned. "What glass?" Olivia explained what she had done with the glass of water that she had received from Piper. And the glass that she now held inside her purse. "You have one of my glasses?"

"Don't worry," Olivia told her. "Just as soon as Forensics check the prints, you can have it back. Meanwhile," the three women and the half-demon climbed into the jeep, "can you drop me off at the precinct?"

---------

Piper's voice rang over the telephone. "Nothing happened, Phoebe. We all got a good look at Donna's amulet. Especially Olivia. It wasn't the same one that I saw around that demon's neck. And Olivia claimed that she saw a different amulet, yesterday."

Phoebe heaved a sigh, as Piper's words sank in. So much for her suspicion of Donna Thompson. Then an idea came to her. "Wait a minute, Piper. There's a good chance that she may have switched amulets. Especially after what happened between her and Olivia, yesterday."

"Phoebe . . ." Piper's voice hinted skepticism.

"C'mon Piper! Don't tell me that isn't possible!"

Another sigh filled Phoebe's ears, as Piper continued, "Yes, it is possible. In fact," she hesitated, "that's what Olivia thinks. Which is why she had decided to steal a glass that had been used by Donna. She's going to have the police check the prints. She's still concerned about two Donna Thompsons being born on the same day and in the same year."

Phoebe exclaimed, "Thank God someone is showing sense!"

"Thank you very much, Phoebe, for that little reminder. Are you now saying that I'm not showing the proper concern for my son?"

Oh God, Phoebe thought. Time for another round of 'Piper's Defense Mode Number One'. "Honey, I didn't say that."

"Really? Then what?" Piper added, "Look, I'm just as concerned for Wyatt as anyone else. Even more. And at least I haven't abandoned him to fulfill some kind of lame ass destiny." Thoughts of Leo flashed in Phoebe's mind. "Besides, it's been at least three days since I had hired Donna. Why hasn't she done anything yet?"

Phoebe sighed. "I don't know, Piper. Maybe it's like Cecile had said. Maybe she's got some elaborate ritual planned. And what about that demon who had attacked you? Nairn?"

"What about him?"

The middle Charmed One continued, "Maybe we should look into this guy. Find out if Donna had hired him."

This time, Piper sighed. "I knew you were going to say that. I wish I could, Phoebe, but I'm going to be busy, tonight. And tomorrow night, as well. I've booked this local band that's becoming big, and there's a good chance I'll have a large crowd on my hands."

"Well, Paige and I . . ."

Piper interrupted, "Phoebe? You're not going to drag Wyatt all over creation just to hunt down information on some demon that's already dead."

Again, Phoebe sighed. "All right! We'll keep an eye on Wyatt. At home." Then another idea came to her. "Or . . . I can ask Paige to get Harry, so they can look into . . ."

"Phoebe, I wouldn't even bother." Piper hesitated. "Cole said that he and Andre would look into Nairn's background. Olivia and Cecile will be busy tonight. And since it has to do with some coven meeting that Paige told me about, I suspect that Harry will be taking her, as well."

Cole. Well, of course he would be the right man for the job. Phoebe sighed. As she always did whenever she thought about her ex-husband, these days. 

"Phoebe?" Piper's voice expressed concern. "Are you okay?"

The younger woman answered, "Yeah, I'm fine. I guess it's been a long day for me and it's not even three o'clock yet." 

"Maybe you should leave work early today," Piper suggested. "I'm sure that Elise would . . ."

Someone knocked on the door, causing Phoebe to glance up. Jason poked his head inside her office. "Phoebe, are . . . Oh! I'm sorry to interrupt."

"No, that's okay." Phoebe returned her attention back to her sister. "Uh, Piper, I'll get back to you, later. Bye." She hung up the telephone, before Piper could respond and smiled at her boyfriend. "Jason! Hi! What can I do for you?"

The newspaper magnate returned Phoebe's smile with a suggestive one of his own. "I have something in mind, but I don't think that this is the right moment for it. I missed you at lunch."

"I'm sorry, baby. I had lunch with Piper."

Jason headed toward Phoebe's desk and leaned over. "I came to ask if you'll be free, tomorrow night."

Phoebe frowned. "Tomorrow night? Not tonight?"

"I have a business meeting, tonight," Jason explained. "Something special." He paused. "Well, to be honest, tomorrow night also has to do with business. Jack McNeill is having some kind of cocktail party, which has to do with that deal between McNeill Corporation and Olivia's friend. Cecile. The deal that you told me about."

"But what does that have to do . . .?"

Jason interrupted, "I had asked McNeill if he could get Olivia to re-introduce me to her friend. Instead, he invited me to the party. I must say it was pretty decent of him . . . considering how my relationship with Olivia had ended." He added, "And I was hoping that you would join me."

Disappointed that Jason did not have romance in mind for tomorrow night, Phoebe mumbled, "Cecile's computer software must be that great, if you want to meet her that badly." A thought came to her. "Wait a minute! Haven't you met Cecile before? When you were dating Olivia?"

"Once. But we never really became acquainted. Besides," Jason smiled curtly, "Olivia and I only dated for about two months. I didn't see Cecile again, until a few years later at Bruce's wedding." He paused and gave Phoebe a pleading look. "You don't mind, do you, baby? Joining me for tomorrow night?"

Phoebe stared into Jason's dark blue eyes and sighed. How could she resist? "No, I don't," she finally said. "As long as I'm with you. But on Saturday, you'll take me to some place special. Right?"

"Whatever you say." Jason leaned even further and planted a light kiss upon Phoebe's forehead. "I'll pick you up around seven, tomorrow night. Bye." He blew her a kiss and left the office.

Another sigh escaped Phoebe's mouth, as she leaned back into her chair. She thought about Piper's refusals to heed her warnings; and being forced to sit back and wait, while Olivia and Cole deal with the Donna Thompson situation. And now, Jason wanted to use her as the Token Girlfriend for the McNeills' party, tomorrow night. Despite being a powerful witch and successful career woman, she was beginning to feel pretty useless.

---------

Strains of a jazz band filled Andre's ears, as he and Cole entered the elegant nightclub on Powell Street. The houngan glanced around the establishment, recalling the last time he had visited Vorando's - for Bruce's bachelor party, last spring. He still could not help but admire the nightclub's Art Deco-style interior.

Upon making their way to the bar, he and Cole ordered drinks. Andre asked for a Black Russian, while Cole ordered a whiskey-and-soda. After the bartender served their drinks, Cole added, "By the way, is Riggerio here?"

The bartender's face became mask-like. "Who?"

Rolling his eyes, Cole retorted, "Just tell him that an old friend from Portofino is here to see him. He'll understand."

Looking slightly uneasy, the bartender nodded and headed toward the back of the club. While the pair sipped their drinks, Andre said, "Guess what? I finally bought the ring, today."

"Huh?" Cole stared at his friend.

Andre sighed. "The engagement ring. For Cecile?" He continued, "Olivia and old Mrs. McNeill had convinced me to go ahead and ask Cecile to marry me." He shot a quick glance at the half-demon's stoic expression. "I suppose you think that I shouldn't bother."

Blue eyes widened, as Cole protested, "I never said such a thing. In fact, the reason Cecile wanted to break up with you in the first place was because she wanted to get married . . . and thought that you didn't."

The news took Andre by surprise. "What? Do you mean to say that I've been worried all this time for nothing? Dammit man! Why didn't you . . .?"

"Hey! We were interrupted," Cole shot back, looking defensive. "When Olivia and Cecile had shown up for dinner. And you kept disappearing on me, after that!"

Andre opened his mouth to protest, but the bartender returned. "Uh, Riggerio can see you, now. Follow me." He led the houngan and the half-demon toward an inconspicuous-looking door at the far side of the nightclub, and ushered them inside an office.

Although different in color tone, Riggerio's office had also been designed in the sleek, Art-Deco style. The club's owner sat behind a large desk, peering at his computer and obviously enjoying the music that came from the live band. The moment the two visitors stood before his desk, the handsome-looking demon glanced up and smiled. "Well, look who's here! Andre!" He nodded at the bartender and ordered another round of drinks, before the latter disappeared from the office. "When Frederico mentioned Portofino, I had been expecting only Belthazor." He stood up and shook Andre's hand. "How are you, my friend? I have not seen you in . . . what? Three months?"

Andre smiled. "Actually, four months. Not since you had hired me to find that missing . . . friend of yours. And I believe I had ended up finding his corpse, instead."

Riggerio turned to Cole and shook the latter's hand. "Belthazor. What brings you here? Is the lovely Signorina McNeill with you?"

Cole smiled wryly at the mention of Olivia's name. "The . . . lovely Signorina McNeill is doing fine. Unfortunately, she and her family are attending some kind of meeting for their coven, tonight. Cecile had joined them."

"Ah! The beautiful Signorina Dubois is in town, as well." Riggerio nodded, as he repeated his earlier question. "So, what brings you two here?"

Cole paused, before answered. "Information." Andre noticed how Riggerio's face quickly became businesslike. "Have you heard of a demon named Nairn? He used to be an assassin."

Riggerio frowned. "Used to be?"

Andre explained, "He was killed a few days ago. While trying to kidnap the Halliwell baby."

Surprise illuminated Riggerio's dark eyes. "Nairn is dead? This is certainly news to me. Did the Charmed Ones kill him?"

"The oldest sister," Cole murmured. "Piper. Along with some Vodoun priestess, who happens to be the baby's nanny."

Riggerio seemed saddened by the news of his fellow demon's death. And yet, Andre could not help but feel that Riggerio's grief did not seem genuine. "Poor Nairn," the demon said with a shake of his head. "I knew that his luck would one day run out. I supposed that going up against a Charmed One was a lot more difficult than the head of the Lehme Order. Still, accepting an assignment involving the Halliwell child." Again, he shook his head. "Very dangerous for a mid-level demon. Even one as skilled as Nairn."

"Did you know that he had protection, all those years?" Cole added. Riggerio stared at him. "Some kind of amulet that blocked the powers of others."

"And yet, he still ended up dead?"

Cole sighed. "That's another story. Right now, we need to know who had hired him."

The other demon shrugged his shoulders. "How would I know? I did not know that he was dead." He paused, as his eyes hardened. "Not that I mind, to be perfectly honest. That bastard had killed a member of our coven, back in the late 70s. He has been on our shit list, ever since. As to who may have hired him," Riggerio's expression became less hard, "I don't know. But . . . I have a pretty good idea who can provide you with that information."

Andre warily eyed his host. "Exactly how much is this piece of information is going to cost us?"

Riggerio stared at the houngan, before he threw back his head and laughed. "Ah, my friend! You know me too well." He quickly sobered. "Do not worry. This information will cost you nothing."

"So, who is this person that can give us the information we need?" Cole demanded.

Riggerio paused before he replied, "A witch."

Both Andre and Cole exchanged shocked looks, before staring at the demon in disbelief. "Say that again?" Andre demanded.

"I said a witch." The demon continued, "After Nairn had killed a member of our coven, we began searching for him. We never managed to catch up with him, but not long ago, one of my . . . colleagues discovered that a witch named Esmerelda Ross had acted as an agent for him. All of Nairn's jobs had been arranged through her."

Andre wondered if he had heard correctly. "You mean to say that a witch is associated with a demonic assassin? Are you sure she's not a warlock?"

Riggerio shook his head. "No, my friend. Signorina Ross is neither Stregheria, Wican or a member of any other recognized Pagan religion. She belongs to a sect that . . . well, practices a darker view of mysticism. Which means that she has not broken her oath, as a witch."

"And which is why she's a witch and not a warlock," Cole added. "Is she some kind of Satanist?"

"No, no, no. From what I had learned, her kind - like the Wiccans and the Streghore - does not believe in the concept of Satan."

The bartender returned with another round of drinks for Andre and Cole. He also served a glass of white wine to Riggerio and left. Andre turned to Riggerio and asked, "Where can we find this Esmarelda Ross?"

With a sigh, Riggerio replied, "Unfortunately, I cannot answer that question." He took a sip of his wine. "I have no idea where she lives. I only know her name." The demon turned to Andre. "But if I were you, il mio amico, I would go back to that little investigation you had done for me. The 'missing friend' whose corpse you had found, was the one who had told me about Signorina Ross. He had disappeared not long after our last conversation."

Andre continued to sip his drink, as he contemplated Riggerio's words.

END OF PART X 


	11. Part XI

"THE POWER OF ONE" by RFK

PART XI

Daley took a deep breath, as she faced the oval mirror inside her bedroom. Today marked the beginning of the first quarter moon. The day in which she will, hopefully, be the possessor of the most powerful magic in existence. Thanks to a nine month-old baby. Once she possessed Wyatt's powers, no being in existence - human, daemon or otherwise - would be able to prevent her from achieving her goals.

After another gust of breath escaped from her mouth, Daley turned away from the mirror. She donned her coat, grabbed her purse and tote bag, and left. Several minutes later, she was driving on the streets of San Francisco, contemplating on the turmoil inside the Halliwell household, yesterday. And how close her plans for tonight were nearly stonewalled.

---- ------------------------

Last night at 6:45 pm . . . "I'm sorry, Piper, but I can't," the youngest Halliwell declared. "I've been invited by Harry to attend his parents' party, tomorrow night."

Daley, who had just finished babysitting Wyatt for the day, hovered nearby, as she donned her coat. She realized that Paige had referred to Harry McNeill, the younger brother of that red-haired witch she had met the other day.

A rueful expression appeared on Piper's face. "Dammit! I guess I'll have to ask Phoebe if she won't mind babysitting Wyatt for two days in a row. She doesn't have anything planned with Jason for tomorrow night, does she?"

"As far as I know, she doesn't."

At that moment, Phoebe burst through the front door. "Hi everyone!" She glanced at her two sisters. "What's the big powwow?"

Reluctantly, Piper replied, "I just found out that Paige is going to a party, tomorrow night. On the same night that I need a babysitter for Wyatt." She turned to the younger woman with hopeful eyes. "You'll be free, won't you?"

Phoebe regarded her older sister with pity. "Oh honey, I'm sorry. But I'm also going to a party, tomorrow night. Jason is taking me to some cocktail party at the McNeills."

Surprise illuminated Piper's eyes. "So is Paige. She's going to the same party."

Phoebe frowned at the youngest sister. "You are?"

"Of course!" It became Paige's turn to frown. "I'm surprised that you're even going. Why would the McNeills invite Jason to one of their parties?"

Resentment flashed in Phoebe's dark eyes. "What do you mean by that?"

"C'mon Pheebs! This is Jason, we're talking about! Olivia's old ex. He's about as popular with her family, as Cole used to be with ours."

Phoebe opened her mouth to retort. "You make Jason sound like . . ."

"I'll help," Daley interrupted, taking the others by surprise. "I'll baby sit Wyatt, tomorrow night."

Piper regarded the nanny with grateful eyes. "Oh, would you? I don't want to interfere with anything you might have planned for tomorrow night."

"I don't have . . ."

Phoebe quickly interrupted, "Oh, but Donna won't have to baby sit for tomorrow night. If it's that important to you, Piper, I'll stay home and take care of Wyatt."

Piper frowned. "Well . . . I don't know. What about Jason?"

To Daley's dismay, Phoebe dismissed the notion with a wave of her hand. "I can call Jason and tell him to go alone. I'm sure that he won't mind."

"Well . . ." Piper began.

Daley realized that her plans for Wyatt were in serious danger. She had originally planned to take a chance and conduct the ritual at the fall of dusk - in the late afternoon. But when she realized that none of the Halliwells would be in the house, tomorrow night, Daley saw a chance to conduct the ritual later at night. When the power of the first quarter moon would be complete. And now, Phoebe Halliwell threatened to ruin her plans.

"If you need a babysitter for tomorrow night," Daley finally said, "I'm available. After all, it's my job."

The three sisters stared at the nanny. The latter noticed suspicion brewing in Phoebe's eyes. Even Piper seemed slightly uneasy. "Well . . . I don't want to ruin any plans you might have for tomorrow night," she said.

"What plans?" Daley said with a shrug of her shoulders. "The last time I had any plans was for Halloween. And before that . . ." She paused dramatically. "Let's just say that I lead a rather quiet life."

Paige cheerfully added, "Well, that settles everything. Phoebe and I can go to the party."

Piper continued to regard Daley in a thoughtful manner. "I . . . guess. Would, uh . . ." She paused, and Daley found herself wishing for the ability to read minds. A sigh left Piper's mouth. "Yeah, I guess everything is settled. Since you'll be working after hours, would a higher pay rate do?"

Daley struggled not to show her relief. "That would be fine," she said with a polite smile. "What time do you want me to show up?"

"Around seven would be okay." As Piper spoke, Daley shot a quick glance at the middle sister. Phoebe did not look at all pleased. Which made Daley feel a whole lot better.

The sorceress gave the oldest Halliwell a bright smile. "Seven o'clock, it is."

----------------------------

Present time . . . Daley inserted her car into a parking space, in front of the Halliwells' salmon-colored house. She switched off the engine and sighed. Time to begin her last day as Donna Thompson. After tonight, she would no longer have to play the double role of the struggling nanny, using the name of a dead woman.

Memories of the real Donna Thompson assailed Daley's thoughts. Donna had been an old friend of Marc's . . . and in her opinion, a real loser.

Upon Donna's release from prison, Marc had suggested they use her as a runner for Daley's narcotic operation. Despite the sorceress' misgivings about the parolee's drug habit, she had agreed to give the other woman a chance. For a while, Marc's faith in the real Donna seemed substantial. Daley assigned the other woman the job of shipping Methcathinone from her ranch outside of San Rafael to San Francisco. Within a year, Donna had performed well enough to allow the ex-con to transfer to a longer route - from San Francisco to San Diego. It took less than a year for Donna to finally screw up.

Daley and Marc had learned that Donna invited a former cellmate to accompany her on a 'Cat' run to San Diego. The former cellmate turned out to be a police informant for the DEA. Even worse, Donna had been sampling some of Daley's product, when she encountered her old friend.

The DEA had arrested Donna just outside San Francisco. Using a little magic, Daley managed to retrieve her shipment from the DEA's evidence room. Without any evidence, Donna ended up being acquitted from any charges of drug trafficking. Realizing that her runner's drug habit might be a risk, Daley ordered Marc to substitute Donna's 'Cat' capsules with drain cleaner. It took the other woman less than one hour to die. And within two months, Daley assumed her identity. When the occasion demanded. Like this latest situation with the Halliwell family.

Soon, Donna's name would no longer be of any use to Daley. Since she was on the verge of becoming the most powerful sorceress of all time. And hopefully, the biggest drug distributor in the Western Hemisphere . . . if all went well, tonight. Daley opened the door and climbed out of the car. As she made her way toward the Halliwells' narrow stoop, a satisfied smile curved her mouth.

-----------------

Olivia glanced up from the stack of files on her desk, as Deborah Liu, a Forensics pathologist, strode toward her direction. She noticed the large yellow envelope in the other woman's hand and asked, "Is that for me?"

Deborah paused and stared at Olivia. "Huh?"

"The envelope in your hand. Is it for me?"

Shaking her head, Deborah replied, "Oh no, it's for Marcus. Regarding the Benson case." She continued past Olivia's desk and delivered the envelope to the redhead's colleague, Marcus Anderson. The two chatted briefly, before Deborah turned away and retraced her steps.

The moment the Forensics investigator came near Olivia's desk, the latter demanded, "What about that glass I had given you, yesterday? Any prints?"

Deborah sighed heavily. "For God's sake, Olivia! Stop worrying! Forensics will deal with it before the end of the day. Or maybe tomorrow."

"I have to wait that long?"

"Yes, Olivia!" Deborah looked slightly annoyed. "Your glass is going to have to wait. My guys have a lot of stuff to examine."

Olivia pleaded, "Could you start on my glass, first?"

Now openly annoyed, Deborah replied, "I'd love to, but I have a decapitated finger to examine for Giamarco and a .44 bullet for Howard. You'll just have to be . . . patient. Okay?"

Realizing that she had no choice in the matter, Olivia nodded. Reluctantly. "Just let me know about the results of the glass, as soon as possible," she added.

The Forensics investigator rolled her eyes and muttered something unintelligible - probably uncomplimentary - and moved on. Olivia leaned back into her chair and sighed.

------------

"Have you proposed to Cecile, yet?"

Mrs. McNeill's question took Andre by surprise. He glanced up from the piece of leather that he held in his hands. "Huh? Oh . . . uh, not yet. I haven't had a chance to be alone with her, yet. But don't worry." He flashed a reassuring smile at the elderly woman. "I plan to ask her, tonight."

The elderly witch regarded him with thoughtful eyes. "You seem different, today. As if . . . you seem quite certain that Cecile will say yes. What happened?"

"Cole," Andre simply answered. "He told me the reason why Cecile has been so distant, lately. And why she wants to break up. It seems that she's ready for marriage. And thinks that I'm not."

"Oh! I see." A smile illuminated Mrs. McNeill's wrinkled face. "Well, it should work all right in the end. Once you present her with the ring . . ."

Andre sighed. "I only hope that you're right. Even if Cecile does accept my proposal, there's her family to deal with."

"What do you mean? Vivian adores you."

With a shrug, the houngan added, "Cecile's mama may feel that way about me, but I wish I could say the same about the rest of the Dubois family. Sometimes, I think they enjoy throwing my past back into my face. I guess I only have myself to blame."

Mrs. McNeill absent-mindedly removed the piece of leather from Andre's grasp and began to finger it. "Perhaps you do. But . . . how long will Claude and the others keep bringing up your past? Forever? I mean, how can you have another chance in life, when they won't allow you to have it?"

A snicker escaped from Andre's mouth. "You know, that reminds me of something Cecile's daddy once told me, after we had started dating. He told me about the Law of Spirit. My grandmother also told me about this. It's basically the moral law in Vodoun - 'Be truthful; do good.' And an initiate who adheres to the Law of Spirit will be able to grow and develop spiritually. They also told me that violators of the law are punished severely by the Vodou and the Ancestors in direct proportion to their level of violation. Additionally, initiates are held accountable for their conduct not only in this life, but are also judged after death. You ever heard of 'The Song of the Divine Judgement'?" Mrs. McNeill shook her head. Andre continued, "'The world is a place of Trail. At the gates of the land of the dead You will pass before a searching judge, His justice is true and he will examine your feet, He will know how to find every stain, Whether visible or hidden under the skin, If you have fallen on the way he will know. If the judge finds no stains on your feet Open your belly to joy, for you have overcome And your belly is clean.'" He added with a humorless laugh, "Only, I doubt very much that my life is spotless enough for a searching judge to accept me into the land of the dead."

"Andre," the elderly witch said with a sigh, "I doubt there is one human in existence, whose life is spotless. Including me." She paused. "You know, this 'Law of Spirit' reminds me of Ammut, the Egyptian demon and the Hall of Maat. You know, the statuette we had found, a few days ago?"

Andre chuckled. "Yeah, I remember talking about it just a few days ago with Cecile, Cole and Olivia."

Mrs. McNeill continued, "As for Cecile, I wouldn't worry. If what Cole says is true, she still loves you very much. Cecile doesn't strike me as the type who would cave in to family pressure."

Silence filled the shop. Andre unexpectedly found himself thinking about Cole's past relationship with the Halliwells. The houngan hoped and prayed that his relationship with Cecile and her family would not suffer the same fate. He glanced at the leather parchment in the older woman's hands. "Have you figured out what that is?" he asked.

She turned the leather parchment over, examining it. "Could be some kind of Native American artifact. Maybe piece of hide. Judging by these hieroglyphics, it might be an account of someone's life. I have an old friend who could help me find out." Then she changed the subject. "Speaking of artifacts, did any of you learn anything more about Caspiel's amulet?"

"According to Olivia, this Donna Thompson didn't have it when she and the others had dropped by the Halliwells' house. Or she could have . . ." His cell phone rang. Andre plucked from his jacket pocket and answered the call. "Hello?"

A familiar voice replied, "Andre? It's me, Janet. I got that information that you wanted." The houngan immediately recognized Janet Colbert, a Tulane law student, who also worked as an operative at his detective agency. Although not yet a Vodoun priestess, Janet happened to be an experienced and talented magic practitioner. "From what Bobby found out," she continued, "there's a woman named Esmerelda Ross, who happens to live in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She might be the person you're looking for." She paused. "By the way, isn't that were we found the body of that daemon, a couple of months, ago?"

"Sounds familiar," Andre replied. "And thanks, cherie. Tell Bobby that he did a good job."

Janet replied, "Yeah, I will." She paused. "Hey, have you asked Cecile, yet?"

"Not yet. Hopefully, tonight." Andre added, "Now, get back to work. I'll probably see you in about another week or so." He finally hung up.

Mrs. McNeill stared at him. "What was that about?"

Taking a deep breath, Andre replied, "A lead. Remember me telling you about some witch who might be connected to that Nairn daemon?" The elderly woman nodded. "Well, I think I know who she might be."

------------

Daley, accompanied by Marc, strode into the warehouse that she owned near the San Francisco Bay's docks. She glanced approvingly at the stacks of crates that surrounded them. "Not bad," she murmured. "Not bad at all. I guess that you managed to package them all in bottles?"

"Yeah. All of the 'Cat' has been packaged." Marc heaved a sigh. "There's been a lot of overtime, this past week, since this shipment is the largest yet. And at such short no . . ."

Daley waved aside his misgivings. "Don't worry. It'll all be worth it, in the end." She walked around, with Marc close at her heels. "Once I have that kid's powers, I'll send the crates to the rendezvous points for the others to make the exchange. Tony, Gloria and the others - they are at their locations, are they?"

"Yes ma'am."

Nodding, Daley added, "Good."

Her companion added, "What time will you be doing the ritual?"

Daley sighed. "I don't know. I can't guarantee what time when Piper and the others will be leaving. It'll probably be around eight or eight-thirty. When I have Wyatt's powers, I'll come back here." Daley shot a wry smile at her assistant. "Ought to be fun."

Anticipation and greed gleamed in Marc's eyes. "And profitable. Hell, I reckon we'll be richer than ever." He returned Daley's smile. "Maybe you'll end up running the cartel."

Daley allowed herself one last glance at the crates. "That's the whole idea."

END OF PART XI 


	12. Part XII

"THE POWER OF ONE" by RFK

PART XII

Cole appeared at Olivia's apartment, later that evening, dressed completely in blue. He wore a dark-blue suit, a light-blue shirt and a royal blue tie that matched his eyes.

"Well, you certainly look handsome, tonight!" Olivia gushed in her usual forthright manner. She gave him a warm kiss. "Almost military. New suit?"

Cole gave her another kiss. "That's right. And you look very beautiful." His eyes swept appreciatively over Olivia's outfit. The redhead wore a light-green, long-sleeved silk blouse that contrasted nicely with her forest-green skirt that reached her calf. She looked beautiful and elegant. Then Cole glanced over her shoulder. "Where's Cecile? Isn't she ready?"

"Almost. She should be ready, soon." Olivia closed the door. "Where's Andre?"

"He'll be down in a few minutes."

Olivia smiled. "Making sure that he has the uh . . . ring on hand?"

Feeling slightly uneasy, Cole tried to dismiss the topic by giving Olivia a blank look. "Huh?"

"For heaven's sake, Cole! The . . ." Olivia shot a quick glance at the door to Cecile's bedroom. ". . . engagement ring. Hel-lo? Have you forgotten?"

He wished he had. At the moment, he had no desire to think about his friend making a step that could guarantee future unhappiness. A step that reminded him of a very painful phase in his own life. But Cole dared not say so. "No, I haven't," he finally told Olivia. "I guess . . . I guess I have other things on my mind. Like Wyatt's nanny. Have you heard anything on those prints?"

Olivia shook her head. "Not yet. Forensics seemed to be taking its own sweet time. As usual." Then she gave Cole a long stare. For a moment, the half-demon wondered if his girlfriend had read his mind. Until she reached out and took hold of his tie. "You tie is needs to be straightened." As Olivia proceeded with her task, she added, "By the way, what did you mean when you said it was just as well that Andre didn't end up marrying Cecile?"

The question took Cole completely off guard. "Huh?" His eyes blinked momentarily. "Uh . . . what . . .?"

"When I mentioned that Andre might not propose to Cecile because he found out that she planned to break up with him," Olivia continued, "you said it was just as well. Why did you say that?"

Green eyes regarded the half-demon with an intensity that left him feeling wary. He loved Olivia with every breath in his body, but he deeply suspected that her Machiavellian mind could send the Source and the rest of the demonic realm trembling with fear. For some odd reason, Olivia's question reminded Cole of those last hours spent with Raynor. Just as he did two-and-a-half years ago, he felt as if he was walking a fine line between safety and danger.

"Cole?" Olivia added. "Did you hear me?"

The redhead's voice snapped the half-demon out of his thoughts. "Yeah, I heard. Sorry. Um . . ."

"Um . . . what?"

Shit! "I just . . . um . . ." Cole took a deep breath. "Well, with Cecile determined to break up with him, I didn't think Andre had a chance in getting her to marry him."

Olivia said, "But the reason Cecile had planned to break up with him in the first place is because she thinks that he doesn't want to get married. But he does. So, are you saying that Andre still doesn't have a chance?"

Of course Andre had a chance in getting Cecile to marry him. Cole simply believed that their chance of a happy marriage did not seem very promising. Only he dared not say this to Olivia. Yet, one glance into her eyes and he saw a glimmer of realization in them. She knew. A sardonic smile curved her lips. "That's okay. I think I already know the answer to that question," she added.

"Olivia . . ." Cole began.

Her eyes narrowed. "What? Are you trying to say that I'm wrong? That you don't believe that Andre and Cecile don't have a chance at a happy marriage?"

Cole snapped, "I didn't say that!"

"You didn't have to," Olivia retorted coolly. "I could see it in your eyes." She gave his tie a sharp tug and turned away. "I guess I should have . . . considering the circumstances of your divorce." Her tone sent a shaft of fear into Cole's heart.

He tried to talk to Olivia - make her see that she had jumped to the wrong conclusion. Only Cole could not find the words to convince her . . . or himself.

At that moment, Cecile emerged from her bedroom. She wore a peach-colored silk sheath dress with a matching jacket. "Hey! What's going on?" she asked.

Cole opened his mouth to speak, but Olivia answered first. "Nothing," she said. "Nothing at all."

Cecile regarded the couple with suspicious eyes. "If you say so." She glanced around. "Where's Andre?"

"He'll be down in a minute," Cole murmured. "He had to . . ." The doorbell rang. "Then again, that might be him." He walked over to the door and peered through the peephole. Sure enough, Andre had arrived. Cole opened the door. "Hey buddy," he greeted. "You're just in time."

Andre strode inside the apartment. "Is everyone ready?"

The others murmured yes and proceeded toward the door. Cole donned his coat and grabbed Olivia's, as well. Before he could help her put it on, she snatched the coat from his hands and followed Cecile out of the door. Andre shot him a curious glance, as he sighed. With barely a few words, he may have seriously screwed up his future with Olivia.

----------

"Chris!"

The young whitelighter paused in his tracks, as he waited for the Elder to catch up with him. Keeping his emotions in check, Chris coolly demanded, "Yes, . . . Elder Wyatt? How may I help you?"

Leo frowned at the younger man's sarcasm. "I need to talk to you," he said. "Now. It's about Valhalla."

Chris immediately became alert. "Are we going to discuss this again? I believe the last time we had, you ended up accusing me of killing a Valkryie in order to send you there. And you were going to bring me before the Council. What happened?"

"I got distracted," Leo retorted, looking slightly annoyed. And embarrassed. "But if what I claimed isn't true, why didn't you volunteer your soul to rescue me, when Phoebe and Paige needed one? You're their whitelighter."

His cheek twitching with emotion, Chris shot back, "Like you said, I'm a whitelighter. I don't fight demons. Remember?" The younger man turned his back on Leo and proceeded to walk away.

Leo's voice echoed through the Realm's hallway. "Are you in the habit of turning your back on an Elder?"

Again, Chris paused. With barely controlled anger, he replied, "No . . . Elder Wyatt. I'm not. Nor am I in the habit of killing Valkryies in order to trap you inside Valhalla. So, get that idea out of your head."

"Really? Because I don't believe you," Leo continued with an unrelenting stare.

Sneering, Chris shot back, "Really? Because I don't care. The other Elders seemed to think I'm doing a good job." He started to turn away, when Leo grabbed his arm. "Hey!"

"The other Elders might regard you as some kind of savior from the future, but I don't," Leo growled. "I think you're more of a menace. Why did you send me to Valhalla? Did you want me out of the way? Has it something to do with the Halliwells? Because if you harm them . . ."

Unable to control his temper any longer, Chris angrily wrenched his arm from Leo's grasp. "Who are you to lecture me about my relationship with them? At least I've been there when they needed me! I haven't abandoned a wife and . . . a son." Leo's eyes widened and Chris began to fear that he had said too much. "Or my charges," he quickly added.

"I haven't . . ." Leo began. He seemed less sure of himself, after Chris' outburst. "I mean . . . I had no choice! Being an Elder involves great responsibility. Maybe you'll understand, one day. Besides, I still keep an eye on Piper and Wyatt."

Chris stared back at the Elder. "Then I guess you know that Wyatt has a new nanny."

Leo's eyes expressed shock. "What? When? Who is . . .?" His expression relaxed. "Oh. The elf nanny must have returned."

"No, she didn't," Chris retorted. "Piper had hired a human. A Vodoun priestess named Donna Thompson. She was the one who helped Piper vanquish that demon, a few days ago."

Shaking his head in disbelief, Leo murmured, "I can't believe it! I can't believe that Piper would hire some stranger to take care of Wyatt without my knowledge."

Chris regarded the other whitelighter with disgust. Leo seemed so caught up in this latest news that he failed to notice that Chris had left.

----------- The two younger Halliwells and Jason arrived at the McNeill house around seven-fifty in the evening, where they found the cocktail party in full swing. Judging from the number of people inside the large drawing-room, Phoebe surmised that she and her companions were among the last to arrive.

Harry McNeill appeared before the trio with a ready smile. "Paige! You finally arrived."

"Hey there!" Paige stepped forward, as she and Harry exchanged a brief kiss. "Actually, we almost didn't, thanks to Phoebe." She shot a dark look at the older sister.

Phoebe protested, "I can't help it if I had a hard time finding my earrings!"

Paige rolled her eyes. "C'mon Pheebs! Your earrings were inside your jewelry box. I find it hard to believe that you didn't know that." The heat of embarrassment crept up Phoebe's cheeks. Paige continued, "The truth is that she and Piper had an argument over who would take care of Wyatt, tonight. She didn't want to leave."

Jason frowned at Phoebe. "Is that why you almost broke our date for tonight? Because of Wyatt?"

"Piper's working tonight," Phoebe added. "I only wanted to make sure that Wyatt had someone to take care of him."

Sighing, Paige retorted, "Phoebe, Wyatt has Donna. His new nanny. Remmeber?"

"Yeah, but . . ."

Harry spoke up, "Listen, why don't you guys circulate around the room? Or get something to eat? In other words, start enjoying yourselves. I'm sure that you didn't show up to have a family quarrel."

Phoebe flashed Harry an embarrassed smile, linked arms with Jason and allowed him to lead her toward the refreshment table. As they began to fill their plates, Jason commented, "You know, you didn't answer my question."

"Huh?" Phoebe glanced at her boyfriend, as she dropped a canapé on the table - missing her plate completely. "What question?"

Jason placed a piece of poached salmon on his plate. "The one that involved our date and your nephew. Where you really planning to break our date in order to baby sit Wyatt?"

Phoebe's mouth hung open. "Well . . . only if Piper hadn't been able to get a babysitter."

"I thought that Wyatt had a new nanny?"

"Well . . . yeah." What else could she say? That she harbored suspicions that Wyatt's nanny might be a demon who had nefarious designs upon him?

A sigh left Jason's mouth. "Phoebe . . ."

The Charmed One placed a mushroom button stuffed with ground sausage on her plate. "What? What did I say?"

Again, Jason sighed. "Nothing. Except . . . sometimes I feel as if I'm competing with your family for your affections. It's like you seem to wrap your whole life around your sisters, and now Wyatt."

"Ja . . . Where did you . . .?" A nervous laugh escaped from Phoebe's mouth, despite the shock caused by his words. A sickening feeling that Jason had guessed the truth, gripped her stomach. Then she shook her head. "Never mind."

Jason continued to stare at her. "What? You won't admit it, will you?"

Keeping her emotions in check, Phoebe replied, "Admit what? I'll admit that you're way off the mark. But that's okay." She gave her boyfriend a quick peck on the cheek. "I forgive you." To her relief, Jason dismissed the matter and continued on another topic.

As they continued to fill their plates, Phoebe noticed Olivia speaking to some guy near the fireplace. And on the opposite side of the room stood Cole, seemingly engrossed in a conversation with Andre and some other man. The couple seemed oblivious to one another, yet Phoebe could sense frustration from Olivia - and fear from Cole. Cole in a state of fear? Phoebe allowed herself another glimpse of her ex-husband and saw him shoot a lovelorn glance at the redhead. There seemed to be trouble in Paradise. Phoebe wondered what had happened between the pair.

----------

Daley carried a blanket outside to the Halliwells' backyard and spread it over a patch of grass. She glanced up at the quarter moon and allowed herself a shiver. It felt chilly, tonight. Hopefully, the ritual would not keep her outside very long.

Then she returned inside the house to fetch her tote bag. It contained materials that she would need for the ritual. Upon reaching the living room, Daley was stopped short at the sight of blue orbs floating above the floor. Seconds later, a blond-haired man in his mid-twenties appeared before her. Familiar with the sisters' whitelighter, Daley realized that she was about to meet another. "Excuse me," the sorceress demanded. "Who are you? And what are you doing here?"

Frowning, the man replied, "I'm Leo Wyatt. Wyatt's father and Piper's husband. Or soon-to-be ex-husband," he added ruefully. "Are you Wyatt's nanny?"

Wyatt's father? Daley cursed inwardly. The last thing she needed at this moment was to deal with her charge's whitelighter father. Forcing a smile on her lips, the sorceress replied, "Yeah. I'm Donna Thompson." She held out her hand.

Mr. Wyatt shook it, as his eyes scanned the room. "Um . . . nice to meet you. I just wanted to see if Wyatt was okay. Where is he, by the way?"

"Oh he's fine," Daley answered politely. "He's in the Solarium. In his crib."

Mr. Wyatt nodded. "Should you . . . uh, be leaving him alone right now? Especially after that last attack?"

"Don't worry. Wyatt's safe." Daley sighed inwardly. "I'll show you." She led Leo to the Solarium, where they found the infant sitting in the middle of his crib and chewing on a blue rubber ball. "See? He's safe. In fact, I had placed a protection ward on his crib." She pointed to a sprig of mallow that she had tied to one of the crib's bars. "In case another demon or someone else tries to take him."

The whitelighter's face turned red. "Oh . . . uh . . . I see. Uh, where are Piper and her sisters?"

"Piper is at the nightclub, and the other two are at some business party." Daley took advantage of his embarrassed state. "So, is there anything else you want to know?"

Mr. Wyatt's next words took her by surprise. "No, but I guess you can leave for the night."

"Excuse me?"

He continued, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude. It's just now that I'm here, I can take care of Wyatt, until his mother returns."

Time to get rid of this dude! As she struggled to remain calm, Daley decided to use Piper's marital status against the interloper. "Well, normally I would be happy to oblige, but I don't think that Piper would be happy if I turned Wyatt over to you, without her knowledge."

Mr. Wyatt opened his mouth, "Well, she didn't tell me . . ."

Daley continued, "And to be honest, I'm getting paid extra for tonight." She paused dramatically. "I could really use the money." 

Fortunately, Wyatt's whitelighter father crumbled under her pleas. "I . . . uh . . . I understand." He bent over the crib to plant a light kiss on Wyatt's head. "I guess you seem to be doing okay." He glanced around once more. "So, I'll leave him to you." He smiled and offered his hand to the sorceress. "Nice meeting you."

"Same here," Daley replied, as she shook his hand. Then to her utter relief, Mr. Wyatt orbed out of the room. Daley heaved a relieved sigh. Finally! She then smiled at Wyatt and returned to her task.

END OF PART XII 


	13. Part XIII

"THE POWER OF ONE" by RFK

PART XIII

"Sheila . . . Sheila hon . . . Yes. Yes, I know that it's past eight o'clock. I'm sorry honey, but . . ." With the phone glued to his ear, Darryl waited patiently, as his wife demanded an explanation for his failure to leave the police station.

When she finally finished, Darryl found himself with the opportunity to continue. "Yes honey. I know that I'm supposed to be at the McNeills by now." Since his wife happened to be a computer software consultant, the Morrises had managed to wangle an invitation to the McNeills' cocktail party in honor of Cecile Dubois. "Look Sheila, I'll try to get there as soon as possible. But I won't be able to, unless I finish this report. The captain wants it ASAP."

"All right," Sheila conceded. "I'll let you get back to your work. But hurry up and get here, Darryl. I'm getting tired of fending off horny business executives who want to know if I'm alone."

A relieved Darryl parted with, "Okay sweetheart. Good-bye," before he hung up the telephone. Then he leaned back into his chair and sighed.

Scott Yi, of the detectives on his squad, appeared by his desk, holding a large yellow envelope. "Trouble in paradise?"

"No, it's just . . ." Darryl let out a gust of breath. "I have a long and difficult report to finish on the Winston case. McPherson wants it tonight. And I was supposed to take Sheila to the McNeills' party." He sighed. "I guess it's time to get back to the salt mine." Then he noticed the younger man's presence. "Why are you still here?"

Scott shrugged his shoulders. "I have a report to finish. The Jose Ortiz shooting."

"Go home and finish it, tomorrow," Darryl ordered. "Unlike the captain, I don't need it right away."

"Okay." Scott paused, before tossing the envelope in his hand, on Darryl's desk. "One last thing. It came in for Olivia. From Deborah Liu."

Darryl grabbed the envelope. "Oh yeah. Must be the results on the prints from the Halliwells' new nanny." He opened the envelope and withdrew a few sheets. A gasp left his mouth, as he read the forensic results. "Holy shit!" he exclaimed.

Scott frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Piper's new nanny. She gave Piper a phony name, when she was hired." Darryl reached for the telephone and dialed the number to the McNeill house. When he heard a busy signal, he hung up. Then he stood from his chair and snatched his jacket. "Look, could you do me a favor and finish my report on the Winston case for me?" he asked Scott. "The notes are on my desk."

Nodding, the younger man replied, "Sure. Where are you going?"

To the McNeills' house. Looks like I'm going to make that party, after all." Darryl fished out his cell phone, as he made his way to the exit.

----------

With all of her items in place on the blanket outside, Daley returned inside to fetch Wyatt from the Solarium. She reached inside and lifted the infant from the crib. Then she carried him outside and placed him on the blanket.

After taking a deep breath, Daley squatted on the blanket, and began the ritual. She closed her eyes and commenced in the Fon language, "Oh Kalfu, I beseech you to open a path between the spirits of myself and this child before me." 

A bright light swirled around the two figures on the blanket, until it formed a straight line between Daley and Wyatt. Then Daley continued the ritual.

-----------

The McNeills' manservant quietly appeared by Olivia's side and murmured to her, "Pardon me, Miss Olivia, but there is a telephone call for you. It's Mr. Morris and he says it's an emergency."

The red-haired witch thanked Davies and excused herself from a group of guests. She headed toward the foyer and picked up the telephone receiver. "Hello? Darryl?"

"Yeah, Olivia. It's me," her partner's voice announced.

Olivia continued, "Shouldn't you be here by now? I think that Sheila is starting to get wor . . ."

"I'm already on my way," Darryl said, interrupting. "Look, I've been trying to get a hold of you. I've got the Forensics report on those prints."

Mild disgust tinged Olivia's voice. "It's about time! Why does it take so long for them to . . ."

A frustrated sigh filled the redhead's ear. "Olivia! Shut up and listen! Please! The prints on that glass belong to a thirty-eight year-old woman named Daley Bakker. With two Ks. She owns a herbal shop on Telegraph Road."

"Daley Bakker?" The news astounded Olivia, despite her suspicions. "Not Donna Thompson?"

Darryl repeated, "No, her name is Daley Bakker. I thought you should know, since that's not the name she had given Piper."

"Thanks Darryl. I guess I'll see you in a few minutes." Olivia hung up and let out a gust of breath. Daley Bakker. Now, why on earth would Miss Bakker use a alias to get a job as Wyatt's nanny?

Olivia rushed back to the large drawingroom. She scanned the crowd, until her eyes fell upon Phoebe standing near Jason. Looking bored. Olivia made her way to the Charmed One's side and tugged the latter's arm. "Hey! Phoebe? Mind if I speak to you for a minute?"

Phoebe shot the redhead a confused look. "Huh? Oh . . . sure." She turned to her boyfriend. "Um, would you excuse me, Jason? I'll be back."

Ignoring the billionaire's puzzled stare, Olivia led Phoebe to a quiet spot near the fireplace. "Where's Paige?" she finally asked. "We need to find her right away, in order to get back to your house. Or maybe Cole."

"What's wrong?" Phoebe demanded.

Olivia told the Charmed One about the telephone call she had received from Darryl. "In other words, we were right about Ms. Thompson . . . or Ms. Bakker. She was using a phony name. Where's Paige?"

Looking alarmed, Phoebe replied, "I saw her heading outside with Harry. Toward the garden."

"Figures. Listen, could you try to get a hold of Piper?"

"Yeah . . . uh . . . I have a cell phone on me." Phoebe reached inside her small purse for her cell phone. The two women passed through the French doors and headed outside. As they made their way toward the garden, Phoebe retrieved her cell phone. The moment she tried to activate her phone, she cried out, "Dammit! My batteries are dead!"

The pair continued their frantic search for the youngest Charmed One, until they came across two figures partially hidden by the darkness. "I think I see someone," Olivia declared. "Come on." She grabbed Phoebe's arm and led the other woman toward the couple.

----------

They stood near one of the house's thick adobe walls. "Okay Andre," Cecile said. "You finally got me alone. Now, what do you want?"

Taken slightly aback by Cecile's cool tone, Andre hesitated. "I . . . uh," he began uneasily. "I understand that . . ." He broke off in a fit of frustration. "What the hell is wrong with me? Look, what I'm trying to say is that . . ."

Cecile regarded him warily. "Cole told you. Didn't he? Or was it Olivia?"

In a sad voice, Andre said, "It was Cole. He told me the night we all had dinner at his place."

"Yeah, I figured as much."

Andre continued, "Why didn't you tell me that you were planning to dump me? If I had known that you were dissatisfied . . ."

Cecile heaved a long sigh. "It's not you, Andre. It's me. I just . . . I don't think our relationship is going anywhere. I mean . . . we've been seeing each other for over four years. Five, next spring. I don't know. Maybe I want something more for us. You know - build some kind of life together."

"What made you think that I didn't want the same?" Andre demanded.

Looking slightly embarrassed, Cecile shot back, "I didn't! Okay? I was afraid to bring up the subject. And you . . ." She hesitated, looking away. "You seemed pretty happy with the way things were."

Andre shook his head in confusion. "What made you come to that conclusion? Did you ask me or something?"

"Listen, I didn't just decide . . ." Cecile began to protest. "I mean, I was going to say something. Only . . ." She sighed. "I just couldn't work up the nerve. I don't want to lose you, Andre. But if we keep going as we are now, I don't think we're going to stay together very long. I'm just no longer happy with the way things are now. But I don't want to force you to make a choice that you might not be ready for."

Stuffing his hand into one pocket, Andre could feel the small velvet box that contained the engagement ring. "What makes you think I'm not ready?"

Her eyes wide with shock, Cecile stared at him. "What are you saying? That you are?"

At that moment, Andre allowed his fingers to clutch the ring's case. Come hell or high water, he would propose to this woman. Tonight. And hopefully, wipe away any doubt or fear that she might harbor about his feelings. Andre opened his mouth. "Cecile, would . . ."

"Paige, Harry, we need to speak . . ." Olivia's voice took Andre by surprise. The redhead and Phoebe emerged beside them. Olivia blinked a few times and stared at the couple. "Oh! Cecile, Andre. I thought . . ."

Annoyed by the interruption, Andre sharply demanded, "What is it?"

"We're looking for Paige," Phoebe replied. "There's an emergency at home."

Her attention now focused on the two witches, Cecile frowned. "Emergency?"

With a sigh, Olivia explained about the information that Darryl had conveyed to her. "Miss Donna Thompson is actually the owner of a herbal shop on Telegraph Road. Her name is Daley Bakker. With two Ks."

"Daley Bakker?" The mention of the name sent Andre's mind spiraling back into the past. Back to the days of his association with drug dealer, Victor Lacroix. He then snapped out of his reverie and frowned at Olivia. "Are you sure that's the name Darryl gave you?"

This time, Olivia frowned. "You know her?"

"I don't know her, personally," Andre explained. "But I've heard of her." He immediately forgot about the engagement ring and started toward the house. "Phoebe, you better find Paige, fast. And get Piper. We'll get Cole. If that woman is Daley Bakker, Wyatt is in serious trouble."

------------

After delivering her offer to Kalfu, Daley continued with the ritual.

She grabbed the small plastic bag that held strands of Wyatt's hair, removed the hair and wrapped strands of a blood root them around them. Then she placed it all inside a small metal bowl. The spell originally called for blood, but since Daley figured that Wyatt's natural shield would prevent her from shedding his blood, his hair - along with bloodroot - could serve as a substitute. Daley dropped a lit match into the bowl, producing a puff of smoke. The sorceress dropped a combination of her hair and bloodroot into another bowl and incinerated it with another lit match.

"Oh Kalfu, please lift the power of magic from this child and deliver it to my body, so I can serve you." She continued with a chant of devotion to the god Kalfu, while shaking a rattle. A bright light glowed around Wyatt. He began to squirm and cry, as the light shot above his body, formed an arc and settled upon Daley's body. The sorceress inhaled deeply, as she felt his power settle within her. She then ended the ritual by offering her thanks to Kalfu.

Satisfied with the completion of her task, Daley decided to test her new powers. She eyed the rattle on blanket and within seconds, it teleported into her hand. The ritual had worked. She was now the most powerful sorceress - woman in existence. And now, all she had to do was complete the ritual's final task.

Daley picked up Wyatt, along with the blanket and its contents from the ground. "Hey there," she said to the wailing infant. "No need to cry like that. Don't worry, sweetheart. Everything's gonna be all right. Within a few minutes, all of your worries will be over." A smile curved her lips. "Permanently."

------------

The Charmed Ones and Harry orbed into the middle of the Solarium. They found Donna . . . or Daley about to feed a bottle of milk to Wyatt. Fearing that some kind of power stripping potion was in the bottle, Paige reacted immediately. She orbed the bottle out of the nanny's hand and into hers.

"What the hell?" Donna/Daley angrily cried out. She waved her hand at the newcomers and sent them flying out of the room. The bottle dropped from Paige's grasp.

"Wow!" Harry exclaimed, struggling to his feet. "Looks like she already has Wyatt's powers."

Phoebe suggested fearfully, as Harry helped her stand up. "Maybe that's her own power."

A grim Piper retorted, "Trust me, it's not."

"She's telling the truth." Daley emerged from the Solarium, holding Wyatt. "Now if you don't mind, I would like that bottle back." The object of desire orbed from the floor and back into her possession.

Four more people teleported into the middle of the living room. Paige sighed with relief at the sight of Olivia, Cole, Cecile and Andre. Annoyance flitted across the nanny's face. "Oh, what the hell is this? A party?" Again, she flung out her hand, sending the newly arrived quartet flying across the room. It shocked Paige that even Cole seemed to be affected. Daley added, "I think it's time to end this little party." An energy ball formed in her hand before she flung it at Cole and the others. The half-demon quickly held out his hand and blocked the attack. Much to Paige's relief. Don . . . Daley regarded him with dismay. "That's not possible! Who are you?" She sent another energy ball toward his direction. And again, he blocked the attack.

Then to Paige's dismay, the fake nanny focused her attention upon the Charmed Ones and Harry, and attacked them with an energy ball. As the ball of electricity zoomed toward them, Paige cried out, "Energy ball!" Unfortunately, it continued it path toward the sisters and Harry. Cole used his telekinesis to redirect the energy ball into another direction and it slammed against a wall.  
The nanny growled in frustration and began to orb out of the room. Paige held her breath, as Cole beamed the infant out of Daley's arms. He finally sent an energy ball at the Vodoun woman, but the latter could disappear for good before it could strike.

END OF PART XIII 


	14. Part XIV

"THE POWER OF ONE" by RFK

PART XIV

"Oh my God!" Piper wailed in despair. "Oh my God! I can't believe this has happened!"

Phoebe retorted darkly, "I can. I told you there was something off about her."

Paige added, "I thought that the bottle had contained a power stripping potion. But she already had Wyatt's powers."

"The milk was probably poisoned," Cecile explained. "Ms. Thompson needs to kill Wyatt in order to make the power transfer complete."

The youngest Charmed One glanced at her former brother-in-law. "Like when Barbas had Cole's powers?"

"Yeah." Cecile glanced at the opened double doors that led to the backyard and headed in that direction.

Phoebe asked Cole, "Why did you wait so long to try to vanquish her?"

Piper rolled her eyes, as the half-demon gingerly handed over Wyatt to her. "Well that's a good idea, Pheebs. Cole should have attacked her, while she was holding my son. Who no longer has his powers."

"I doubt that I would have been able to kill her anyway," Cole added. "I had noticed that she was wearing that amulet."

A distressed Piper wailed, "Oh God! How in the hell are we going to get Wyatt's powers back?" The infant in her arms began to cry. "Oh Wyatt, honey! I'm sorry. Mommy's sorry."

Olivia added, "If this Daley Bakker had waited this long to do the ritual, why did she pick tonight?" She stared at Andre. "And who exactly is she?"

Andre sighed. "Daley Bakker . . . happens to be a member of the Anansi Order."

A low whistle escaped from Cole's mouth. Olivia gasped aloud. The Charmed Ones stared at the couple. Frowning, Paige asked, "Who is this Anansi Order? And why have both Cole and Olivia heard about it?"

Before Andre could answer, Olivia said, "Victor Lacroix. He . . . uh, he was a drug dealer, who was a member of this criminal organization called the Anansi Order. I had to go to Louisiana over four years ago to extradite him. For murder. That's how Cecile and I first met Andre." She glanced at Andre. "You mean to say that Daley Bakker is . . .?"

Andre finished, ". . . one of the top drug lords on the West Coast. In this country. Her distribution area is from California to Texas. My old boss, Victor Lacroix, covered the entire Mississippi Valley - from Minnesota to Louisiana. And any area east of the Alleghenies. The Anansi Order is a group of criminals who are heavy into the West African supernatural. Many of them are familiar with Vodoun . . . which means that most of them are powerful bokors. Victor was among the few who had hired a bokor to work for him." He paused. "Namely me. Back in '97 or '98, Victor was visiting San Francisco, when he had murdered some local drug dealer."

"He had left the city before the police could arrest him," Olivia finished. "Then around the spring of '99, we had received a tip that he could be found in Morgan City, Louisiana. My captain contacted the law there. And I was ordered to bring him back."

The houngan added, "I was the one who had tipped the police about Victor's whereabouts."

Paige gave him a thoughtful stare. "You snitched on him."

Nodding, Andre replied, "Yeah. To get control of his operation. Only . . ." He shook his head in disbelief. "I didn't count on meeting Cecile. And Olivia, of course." He had the red-haired witch exchanged fond smiles.

"What about this Daley Bakker?" Phoebe asked. "If she was in control of the West Coast, how could she allow this Victor Whatshisname to commit a crime in her area?"

With a shrug, Andre replied, "I don't know. I never met the woman. But I have heard of her. After Olivia had brought Victor back here, he was mysteriously killed, while in jail. It's believed that Ms. Bakker had arranged the hit. The Cartel had tried to kill me, after I had turned my back on them. But they had apparently gave up . . ." Andre's eyes grew hard. ". . . after I dealt with a few of their people." He sighed. "Like I said, I've heard of Ms. Daley Bakker. She had started manufacturing cocaine in the small factory she used for her herbal products. And this was around the time she had reached her mid-twenties. A year or two later, she was manufacturing 'Cat' from a ranch outside . . ."

Piper cried out in dismay, "You mean to say that my son's nanny is a drug lord?"

"What's Cat?" Paige demanded.

"Methacathinone," Olivia explained. "Powdered drug that's inhaled."

Andre added, "Victor had several labs, outside New Orleans. I don't know where Ms. Bakker had her labs, but before Victor's arrest, she had been a member of the cartel for at least three or four years."

Phoebe asked, "Who's the head of this order? A demon?"

"Who cares?" Piper retorted. "That bitch has my son's powers! I'm more concerned about her." She turned to Andre. "Where does she live?"

Olivia interrupted, "Piper? Before you go charging after this woman, may I remind you that she now has Wyatt's powers? And we don't even know if Cole will be able to deal with her."

"You saw how he had blocked her energy balls!"

Cole added, "Yeah, but she can probably do the same to my powers. Like Dako. And she has that amulet."

Piper demanded, "So, what do we do?"

Andre sighed, "Other than try to keep Wyatt safe, I don't know. Like Olivia had said, Daley Bakker needs to kill him in order to keep his powers. Permanently. The only way out of this mess is to find out what kind of ritual she had used."

"And how do we do that?" Phoebe asked.

"I . . ."

Cecile returned to the others. "Look what I found, outside." She held up what looked like a strand of weed or some kind of plant. "Bloodroot. Daley Whatshername must have used it as a substitute for Wyatt's blood."

"Then why was she taking hair from Wyatt's brush?" Phoebe asked.

"She probably combined the bloodroot with the hair."

Paige's face puckered in distate. "Eww!"

"It's a hell of a lot better than using Wyatt's blood," Cecile argued. "Which she would have never been able to get, anyway."

Andre added, "Which would explain why she had waited until tonight for the ritual."

Cecile nodded. "The first quarter moon. Naturally, one would use a ritual for some kind of transfer, when the moon is in transition." She broke away.

Andre continued, "Must have been a powerful ritual that she had used. Then again, we're talking about Wyatt here. Such a ritual would have been needed for his powers. The best thing I can suggest is that you keep him under wraps."

"Hey! Look at what I had found!" Cecile's voice cried. The others followed her voice to the Solarium. She pointed at a blanket filled with a few objects, on the sofa. "Must be part of the altar that Ms. Bakker had . . ." The blanket, along with the items, disappeared. Cecile frowned. "What the hell?"

Olivia turned to Cole. "Can you get them back?" The half-demon waved his over the empty spot. The blanket and the items reappeared. But only briefly. They disappeared a second time, before he could react.

Paige cried out, "Altar!" After a few seconds, the space on the sofa remained empty.

"Oh great!" Piper exclaimed. "Now what?"

Andre replied, "Like I said, keep Wyatt under wraps. Cecile and I can find out what ritual the Bakker woman had used. Only I don't know how long it would take us to find a way to reverse the spell."

Piper sighed. "Oh God! I guess I better take him to the Whitelighter Realm."

"He won't be safe there," Olivia said, taking the Charmed One by surprise.

"What?"

Olivia continued, "Piper, this Daley Bakker has Wyatt's powers. She probably knows about Leo and has already met Chris. I wouldn't be surprised if she starts searching for him . . . up there."

Looking slightly exasperated, Piper began, "Then where do I . . .?"

"Keep him here," Olivia suggested. She nodded at the half-demon. "And have Cole cast a protection spell over the house. I doubt that even Daley Bakker will be able to get inside."

"Great."

Shaking her head, Phoebe murmured, "Boy, she really played this beautifully." Piper stared at her. "Daley Bakker, I mean. I wonder how long she had been planning this?"

"Who knows?" Cecile commented.

Phoebe added, "And hiring that demon to attack Piper and Wyatt. Very well planned."

"Phoebe, do you mind NOT EXPRESSING your admiration for this woman?" an annoyed Piper grumbled. At that moment, blue orbs appeared before the group, eventually forming into both Leo and Chris.

The young Elder glanced around the room, his troubled eyes resting briefly upon Cole and Andre. "The Council had felt a disturbance, not long ago," he commented. "From here. What just happened?"

Piper heaved a silent sigh. As if her night could not get any worse.

------------

The moment Daley had teleported into the warehouse, she marched straight toward her right hand man, Marc. The latter sat behind a small table that held a computer laptop. "Is everything ready?" she demanded.

"Yeah." Marc stared at her. "How did it go? Did you . . .?"

Daley spotted a mouse scampering across the floor. She incinerated it with an electrical ball. ". . . perform the ritual? Yeah, I did."

Marc's eyes widened in shock. "Damn woman! That's some firepower!" He stared at the last remains of the mouse - a scorch mark on the floor. "What happened to the mouse? It's gone."

"Precisely." Daley bent over his left shoulder. "Let's get this show going. Contact Ruben in L.A."

Still looking slightly stumped, Marc mumbled, "All right." He flipped open his cell phone and dialed a number. Then . . . "Yeah Ruben, it's me. Marc. Time for the delivery." He stared at Daley, who walked over to a stack of crates. She waved one hand over the stack and the crates immediately disappeared. She returned to Marc's side and they both began to stare at the laptop's screen. A few minutes passed before the computer indicated a deposit of 32 million dollars into the bank account of Daley's organization. Marc grinned. "It worked." He said to Ruben over the phone, "Transaction has completed, Ruben. See you in a few days." Then he hung up. "Man, that was fast!"

Daley nodded sharply. "Of course. Now, contact Gloria in Denver." Marc did as he was told. The sorceress teleported another stack of crates out of the warehouse. Minutes later, the pair learned that they had just earned a profit of eleven million dollars.

With a smile stamped on his face, Marc declared, "So far, we've earned 43 million dollars, tonight. Damn"  
"And it's not over," Daley coolly added. "Call Tony."

Marc contacted the sorceress' agent in Houston. Daley teleported the remaining crates to the Texas metropolis. A few minutes passed before their account reflected a deposit of 20 million dollars. "That's it," Marc declared. "We've made 63 million dollars, tonight. That's . . . shit! This is the biggest delivery we've ever made in one day. This is like . . . history! Any more nights like this . . . hell! We can control the entire order." He paused. "So, I guess that everything went according to plan."

Daley snapped, "Not quite!"

"What do you mean?"

With a sigh, Daley explained what had happened at the Halliwell home. "With Wyatt still alive, there's a chance that the ritual can be reversed . . . or it will be reversed by the end of the moon's next Last Quarter. I have to get rid of him. Fast!"

"Do you think that Andre Morrell might find out about the ritual?" Marc asked.

Again, Daley sighed. "I don't know. Either he will or that girlfriend of his. The mambo I had met." Recalling the good-looking attorney who had blocked her attacks, Daley demanded, "And who in the hell is this Cole Turner?"

Marc looked stupefied. "Who?"

"I had met a tall, good-looking man, yesterday. He was with Piper, the Dubois woman and that red-haired witch," Daley explained. She then described how Cole Turner had easily deflected the electrokinetic power that she had stolen from Wyatt. "Either Wyatt isn't as strong as we had believed . . . or there's another player in this game." She fixed Marc with a hard stare. "Find that warlock friend of yours. Get him to tell me everything he knows about this Turner guy. Meanwhile . . . I'll have to find a way to get close to Wyatt, again. And kill him."

END OF PART XIV 


	15. Part XV

"THE POWER OF ONE" by RFK

PART XV

"What the hell is going on?" Leo demanded, the minute he had materialized in the middle of the room. Chris remained silent. 

Paige saw her oldest sister heave a weary sigh. "And good evening to you, Leo," the youngest Charmed One commented. The Elder rewarded her with a glare.

Piper asked, "What do you want, Leo?"

"There's been a disturbance. Detected by the Council," Leo continued anxiously. "Has something happened to Wyatt?"

It was Harry who answered, "He's lost his powers. Actually, they were stolen. By his nanny."

Horror filled both Leo and Chris' eyes. "Oh my God!" the former cried. He turned on his former wife. "Piper, how could you let something like that happen?"

Again, Piper sighed. "I didn't . . . let it happen . . . Leo!"

"You hired her! Couldn't you tell that she was a danger?" the Elder shouted back. "Couldn't any of you sense that?"

Piper retorted, "I'm not a psychic!"

"Well, Phoebe is!" Leo pointed at his former sister-in-law. "And she's empathic!"

The middle Charmed One opened her mouth in protest. "Wha . . .? I mean, I didn't sense anything from her! But I did become suspicious . . ." Everyone stared at her. "I mean . . . I saw her taking samples of Wyatt's hair from his brush."

"And you didn't say anything?"

Phoebe shot back, "Of course I did! But . . ." She broke off, and shot an embarrassed glance at her older sister.

Paige sighed. She would give anything not to be a witness to another Piper-Leo quarrel. Or an inquisition from Leo AND Chris. "Okay, so we weren't that suspicious of Don . . . I mean, Daley Bakker. What can we say, Leo? She was a good actress."

Leo's angry eyes swept over the three sisters. "You just dismissed Phoebe's suspicions?"

"Not completely," Harry replied. "Phoebe didn't have any evidence to back her up. And Olivia was also suspicious, so she checked this Donna or Daley's background." He shook his head with disbelief. "Man! If only you knew the truth about her!"

"What . . .?" Leo's face turned red. "I can't believe this! Phoebe AND Olivia become suspicious of this woman and you did NOTHING?"

Piper finally lost her temper. "For God's sake, Leo! The woman had helped me protect Wyatt from a demonic attack! What was I supposed to think?"

Chris asked, "Isn't this Miss Thompson . . .?"

"Bakker," Cecile immediately corrected. The two whitelighters stared at her, as she glanced away.

Chris continued, ". . . this Miss . . . Bakker a demon, as well?"

Cole replied, "No, she's human. I could tell. According to Andre, she's a bokor."

"A what?" Chris demanded.

Andre explained, "Vodoun practioners who use magic for evil."

Leo cried, "Who cares what she is? Where is she? Isn't there some spell or potion that can be used to return Wyatt's powers to him?" He turned to Chris. "And why didn't you warn us about this Daley woman? You're from the future."

Chris shot back, "No one had ever told me about her! And I haven't been born, yet! Besides," he sneered at Leo, "you had met Wyatt's nanny, this evening. You mean to say that you couldn't tell that she was a phony?"

All eyes focused upon the young Elder. Whose face turned a deeper shade of red. For a moment, Paige wondered if Leo was about to suffer a heart attack. Her former brother-in-law immediately went into a defensive mode. "How am I supposed to know? I'm not a telepath or empathic!"

"It would be useless anyway," Cecile commented. "We think that she has an amulet that protects her from psychic powers or magic of any kind. Including Cole's powers. And we think that Ms. Bakker may have received said amulet from the demon who had attacked Piper, a few days ago."

Phoebe added, "I think that Donna . . . I mean, Ms. Bakker had arranged that attack to convince Piper to hire her."

Leo's blue eyes went wide with disbelief. "Are you serious? You mean that not even the Power of Three . . . or Cole can overcome this amulet?"

A brief second followed before Cole heaved a sigh and said, "The amulet belongs to a dominion spirit named Caspiel . . ."

"OH GOD!" Despair flashed briefly in Leo's eyes. Apparently, he knew all about dominion spirits. "This . . . woman not only has Wyatt's powers, but the amulet of a dominion spirit, as well?"

Paige replied gingerly, "Well . . . yeah. But don't worry. Cecile and Andre will try to find out which spell or ritual that Donna woman had used."

Cole added, "And Andre and I will be looking into that demon she may have hired. Maybe someone can tell us where we might find Ms. Bakker."

Paige saw the disbelief in Leo and Chris' eyes. She understood how they felt. Even if they all found Daley Bakker, how on earth were they all going to deal with a powerful Vodoun bokor in possession of Wyatt's powers . . . and a dominion spirit's amulet? Not even Cole, with all of his powers would stand a chance.

The telephone rang. Paige answered the call. "Hello?" A familiar voice filled her ears. "Oh. Yeah." She handed the cordless phone over to the middle sister. "Uh, Pheebs? It's Jason. He wants to know when you plan to return to the party."

-----------

The two men teleported in front of a sprawling, one-story house made from adobe, within the Santa Fe city limits. "This is it," Andre commented. "Esmeralda Ross' home." They strode toward the entrance and Cole pressed the doorbell.

Seconds later, a voice cried out, "Yes? Who is it?"

Cole cleared his voice before he replied, "Santa Fe Police. There's been a disturbance down the road. We need you to answer a few questions."

"I don't know anything!"

Cole rolled his eyes as he continued, "Ma'am, we're questioning all of the neighbors along this road. Please cooperate."

Two or three minutes passed before a woman in her early forties opened the door. Her eyes swept over Cole and Andre with deep suspicion. "You're the police? Where's your ID?"

The half-demon ruthlessly shoved the door wide open, forcing the woman against a wall. "Hey!" she cried. "Jake, Karl, Vernon . . . get rid of them!"

Three men converged upon the two friends. A tall, burly man with auburn hair thrust a knife at Andre. The latter immediately blocked the attack with a few martial arts moves, before forcing the knife into his attacker's gut. The man sank to the floor with a cry.

Cole found a gust of wind swirling toward his direction. He immediately beamed out of the whirlwind's path and reappeared by the aerokinetic. The gust of wind struck the third man, forcing him back against a wall . . . and what looked like an iron hook. The latter grunted as the hook sank into his back. The aerokinetic's eyes grew wide as he pointed a gun at Cole. He pulled the trigger. The half-demon used his telekinesis to deflect the bullets . . . back into the man's chest. Like his companions, he also died.

Both Cole and Andre stared at the house's owner, who huddled against the wall with frightened eyes. "Are you Esmeralda Ross?" Cole demanded.

The witch murmured a Latin incantation and an energy ball formed in one hand. She hurled it at Cole, who swatted it away, with his telekinesis. "Oh shi . . . Who in the fuck are you?" she cried.

Using his telekinesis, Cole lifted the witch off the floor. "I'm going to ask you the last time. Are you Esmeralda Ross?"

"Fuck you!"

Andre picked up a pile of mail from the coffee table and examined it. "She's Esmeralda Ross, all right." He glanced around the living room. So did Cole. Half-opened boxes were scattered about. "Looks like someone is planning to move."

Cole returned the witch to the floor - butt first. A grunt escaped her mouth, as he continued, "Okay Miss Ross, you're going to answer a few questions for us."

Miss Ross struggled to her feet. Then she smoothed down her red hair that resembled a dye job. Cole noticed for the first time that Esmeralda Ross also possessed sharp features that nearly made her resemble a weasel. "What questions?" she coolly shot back.

"Like . . . who had hired your former client - a demon named Nairn - to attack one of the Charmed Ones and her son, several days ago."

Feign confusion filled Miss Ross' dark eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Andre held out one hand, allowing a ball of fire to hover over his open palm. "This sure is a nice place you've got," he said, glancing around the room in an approving manner. Then his expression hardened. "Be a damn shame that the last thing you'll see is this place burning down . . . around you."

The witch's face paled. "I don't know . . . what . . ."

"Listen to me," Cole ordered in a cold and harsh voice, "we know that you have acted as Nairn's agent for his assassination jobs for the past fifteen years or so. And we know that it was you who had met and made arrangements with Nairn's last client. So, who had hired him to attack the Charmed One?"

Seconds passed before Miss Ross let out a gust of breath. "Okay. All right, I'll talk. It was . . ." A devious light flashed in her eyes. "A coven of demons had hired me. The Crotona Coven had hired Nairn to attack Piper Halliwell."

For a brief moment, shock overcame Cole. Riggerio led the Crotona Coven. Why would the . . . Then he recalled the devious look in the witch's eyes. He realized that she had lied. Cole slowly walked toward her in a menacing manner, causing her to literally hug the wall. "What do you take us for?" he murmured. "Do you really think we're that stupid?"

Fear now glimmered in Miss Ross' eyes. "I . . ." she began. "I mean, I don't know . . ."

"One of my powers happened to be telepathic suggestion," Cole continued. He now stood inches away from the beleagured witch. "Tell us who had hired your boss . . . or I'll force you to tell me. After that, I'm sure that my friend would be more than happy to burn down this house . . . over your head."

Miss Ross glanced at Andre, who responded with a mirthless smile. "Okay," she squeaked. "I'll tell you the truth."

Cole nodded. "So, who had hired Nairn? Was it a female bokor? Or a male one?"

"Bokor?" Genuine confusion appeared on the witch's face. "You mean one of those Voodoo people? No. Of course not!"

"Don't lie to me!"

Miss Ross cried out in panic, "It's the truth! No bokor or mambo or priest had hired Nairn! It wasn't even a mortal!" She moved toward one of the open windows.

Cole and Andre exchanged confused looks. Then the latter asked, "Are you saying that another daemon had hired him?"

"No, not a daemon!" Miss Ross said with a shake of her head.

Frowning, Cole added, "But you said that the client wasn't a mortal."

"It wasn't a daemon. I swear! In fact, Nairn was instructed not to kill the witch. He only had to make sure that she didn't interfere with him killing the child."

"So, who hired him?"

With fear still flickering in her eyes, Miss Ross answered, "Look I realize that you might not believe this, but it was a . . ." It happened so fast that Cole had not time to react. Just as the witch was about to name Nairn's last client, an arrow zoomed through an open window and struck Miss Ross directly in the heart. She let out a gasp and sank upon the ground.

Andre knelt beside the witch's fallen body and checked her pulse. "Dead," he announced grimly. "Shot right through the heart."

Cole finally recovered from the shock of the witch's death and beamed outside. He stood in the dark, as he attempted to sense the assassin's presence. Whoever had killed Esmeralda Ross had disappeared quickly. The killer had been a teleporter. Cole heaved a frustrated sigh and returned inside the house.

"Did you find anyone?" Andre asked.

The half-demon shook his head. "Not a soul. Whoever had killed her and hired Nairn definitely was not mortal."

"Which means that Daley Bakker didn't hire him," Andre added.

Cole heaved a sigh. "That's not all."

"Oh?"

The half-demon's mouth formed a grim line. "The killer was NOT a darklighter. Or daemon."

Andre frowned. "Then who had killed her?"

With a shake of his head, Cole replied, "Who knows?" Then he sighed again. "Shit!"

END OF PART XV 


	16. Part XVI

"THE POWER OF ONE" by RFK

PART XVI

Scott Yi entered the squad room, the following morning, holding a brown folder. "I've got all the information I could find on Daley Bakker," he said, before dumping the folder on Olivia's desk. "It's not much. But then . . . her record is squeaky clean."

Olivia opened the folder and read. She learned that Daley Bakker had been born on August 3, 1966, in Oakland, as Daley Anwar. Her parents were also native Californians. However, her paternal grandparents came from Alabama in the 1930s. Anwar earned a Bachelor's Degree in Biology and Biochemistry from Calfornia State University in San Marcos in 1988; and a Master's in Biochemistry in 1990. She worked for the Bloom Pharmeceutical Company as a chemist upon earning her Master's. After three years, she left the company and opened her own herbal cosmetic company/shop called The Blue Orchid, on Telegraph Road.

"Andre was right about her," Olivia said. "She's clean. Not one arrest, whatsoever. Not even for speeding." The red-haired witch continued to read the file. "She married a man some fifteen years her senior in 1989. About three years later, he dropped dead from a heart attack." Olivia gave her colleague a meaningful glance. "Heart failure at 41 years old. Naturally, Mrs. Bakker collected the insurance."

"Did her husband . . .?"

Olivia finished, "Orlando Bakker. That's his name. He owned a small pharmacy, here in the city."

"Hmmmm. And he had a heart condition?" Scott shook his head. "I bet the insurance company must have been taken by surprise."

Olivia glanced at the folder. "Maybe they were. They investigated Mrs. Bakker's claim, stating that her husband did not have a heart condition, when he first bought his policy. But they couldn't find any traces of foul play. About six months after her husband's death, she formed The Blue Orchid. Not only does she sell herbal beauty products, she creates her own products, as well. Natural ingredients. Allegedly. Looks like her factory is located somewhere on Bayshore Boulevard."

Scott murmured, "I'll check it out."

"I don't know, Scott," Olivia said with a slight frown. "This is a private matter and I don't want to get you into trouble."

But Scott refused to deny Olivia any help. "Look, I don't mind. If this Mrs. or Ms. Bakker has that kid's powers, she might end up as a threat to a lot of people." Although a Taoist disciple, Scott also happened to be magic practitioner.

"I don't know. It's a good chance that Ms. Bakker has already abandoned her factory." Olivia paused, as she contemplated another thought. "Then again, she might still be operating. And you could find yourself in serious trouble."

Scott sat down in the chair next to her desk. "She has to kill the baby, doesn't she? To make sure that the power transfer is permanent?" Olivia nodded. "Well . . . it looks as if you might have to lure her into a trap. Because that's the only way I can see you helping that kid."

Olivia nodded. "And to lure her, we'll have to use Wyatt. But before we can allow her to get near him, we'll have to find a way to reverse the ritual."

"Allow?"

"That's right. Allow." Then she closed the file and leaned back into her chair with a sigh.

-----------

The images flashed in Cecile's mind, as she recalled the objects she had found inside that blanket, last night. Objects that had formed part of an altar for Daley Bakker's ritual. Why had she used those particular objects for . . .?

"Cecile?" The elder Mrs. McNeill's voice had interrupted the young priestess' thoughts. "Is there something wrong? You seem a bit quiet."

Cecile sighed. "I was thinking of that blanket, I had found at the Halliwells', last night. "You know, the one with objects for an altar."

"Oh." The elderly woman nodded. "Have you recalled something?"

In her quest to identify the ritual used to strip Wyatt of his powers, Cecile had dropped by the McNeills' house for more information. The family library possessed one of the biggest collections of books and notes on the world's mythologies . . . and on the supernatural world. So far, she and Mrs. McNeill had failed to find anything on what ritual that Daley Bakker had used. "No, I haven't. And that's the problem. I mean . . . I can think of one or two rituals for psychic transference. But they didn't require an altar like the one I had found. That altar . . . I don't know. I have the feeling that Don . . . I mean, Ms. Bakker had used a very old ritual."

"Not surprising," Mrs. McNeill commented. "Wyatt's powers are very strong." She joined Cecile in front of the bookshelf. "If she did use an old ritual, I'm surprised that she would know about it. A lot of old Celtic and Druid spells have been lost, since the early days of Christianity."

Cecile continued to peruse the bookshelf. "It's the same in Vodoun. Many of our old rituals have disappeared in the past century or so. But we still know a good number of them." She paused, as a book caught her attention. The title read "THE SUPERNATURAL WORLD OF THE IVORY COAST". "Well, this looks interesting," Cecile commented, as she pulled the book from the shelf. The publishing date inside read 1911. "Have you ever read this?"

The elderly woman took the book from the young priestess and stared at the cover. "Oh that! I remember Ken's father - my father-in-law - showing me this book, years ago. He had bought it at a bookstore in London, just a month or two, after the war. World War I, by the way." She flipped through the pages. "Do any of these spells look familiar?" Mrs. McNeill handed the book back to Cecile.

"Let me see." The Vodoun priestess sat down in the nearest chair and began to pour through the book. After nearly fifteen minutes, she finally came upon what she had been looking for. "This is it!" she cried. "I think I've finally found the ritual that Daley Whatshername may have used."

-----------

Later that afternoon, Cecile and Mrs. McNeill met with the others at the Halliwell manor. There, the Vodoun priestess revealed her discovery.

"Some British anthropologist had spent several years at this village in present day Togo," Cecile explained. "He recorded many aspects of the villagers' lives - including the spiritual and the supernatural. This . . . Sir Jonathan Close had learned all about Vodoun beliefs and rituals from a local houngan. Including a ritual that can transfer the essence or psychic abilities from one person to another. I think this is the spell that had been used on Wyatt."

Piper, who held Wyatt in her arms, frowned. "Essence?"

Cecile looked at the oldest Charmed One. "Well, of course. Our psychic powers and our abilities to perform magic come from our essence. Right?" Before Piper could answer, Cecile finished, "Anyway, the items I had found in that blanket, matches those that are to be used in the ritual, found in this book. And since this ritual involves psychic abilities, Ms. Bakker must have appealed to Kalfu."

"Who?"

Andre answered for Cecile, "He's a loa. A spirit god associated with evil. Like Legba, he controls the crossroads of the spirit world. But for darker purposes. Legba is his opposite."

"Which is whom I will have to summon to reverse the ritual," Cecile added.

"Does the book show a way to reverse it?" Phoebe demanded.

Nodding, Cecile answered, "Don't worry. It does. I just have to get similar items for the ritual. But since I'll be summoning Legba for help, I won't have to wait until dark to perform the ritual. However, it has to be performed either by the last day of the moon's first quarter . . . which is tomorrow. Or we'll have to wait until the last quarter moon begins."

"We're doing it tomorrow," Piper insisted.

Cecile added, "And we also need to lure Donna or Daley back here. We'll need a sample of her blood. Or hair."

Cole snorted. "Good luck on that one," he murmured.

"Can't we just get a hair sample from her bedroom?"

Cecile gazed at the youngest Charmed One. "Can you get inside? I know you can teleport, Paige. But for all we know, Ms. Bakker might have a protection ward around her house."

Olivia sighed. "In other words, we'll have to lure her to the house, before we can get a blood or hair sample from her. Now that she knows about Cole, that won't be so easy."

"She'll have no choice but to show up," Andre commented. "Especially if she wants to keep Wyatt's powers . . . permanently." A light gleamed in his dark eyes. "However, I do have an idea." He regarded Cole with thoughtful eyes. "Do you have to be in the same room with someone to use telepathic suggestion?"

Cole stared at his friend for a long moment. "No," he finally answered. "No, I don't. I can use it on anyone from a distance. But this Daley Bakker . . . she has Wyatt's powers. I don't know if I can . . ."

"Might as well try," Andre said. "Besides, I have a feeling that your powers might slightly be stronger than Wyatt's."

Piper immediately spoke up. "You don't know that for sure. After all, when Wyatt was born, all magic had ceased . . ."

"Didn't Cole still have his powers that day? I know a few others who also did." And before Piper could respond, the houngan turned to the half-demon. "Now, this is what I want you to do." Andre then proceeded to reveal what he had in mind.

------------

Daley stood before the liquor cabinet, inside her living room. "What do you guys want to drink?" she asked the two men, who sat on the sofa.

Marc replied, "Bourbon."

"I'll have a whiskey straight," the second man answered. Like Marc, Clive Davis happened to be one of Daley's lieutenants. He usually supervised the manufacturing and packaging of her Methacathinone. "Shouldn't we be making a run for it, or something like that? Now that the cops probably know about us?" The other two stared at him. "I saw an unmarked police car outside the warehouse, this afternoon."

Marc added, "I forgot. There was one parked outside your store, as well."

Daley impatiently dismissed the men's worries. "We're not leaving," she declared in a resolute tone. "Why should we? The only cop who knows about us is that red-haired bitch. And probably a friend or two on the force. She can't say anything to the Department without bringing up magic. And if the cops do try anything . . . I'll take care of them." She allowed a cruel smile to curve her lips. Then her smile disappeared. "However, we do have two problems. Getting rid of Wyatt Halliwell. And that Cole Turner fellow." She handed Marc a glass of bourbon. "Did your warlock friend know anything about him?"

After taking a sip of his bourbon, Marc sighed. "Oh Daley, I think we may have walked into a world of shit with this dude."

"Meaning?"

Marc continued, "Have you ever heard of a daemon named Belthazor? From the Brotherhood of the Thorn?"

During her years of criminal activity, Daley had done business with various supernatural beings and organizations outside the Anansi Order. Including business with the Brotherhood of the Thorn. She had also heard of a daemonic assassin named Belthazor, who was said to be one of the best. "Yeah, I've heard of him. I also heard that he had been killed by these three witches who . . ." She stared at Marc. "Are you saying that Cole Turner is Belthazor? But, he's supposed to be dead!"

"Yeah," Marc said with a nod. "He was killed by the Charmed Ones. Apparently, he had fallen in love with one of them - Phoebe Halliwell. A year after they had met, he lost his powers, became a mortal for a few months and then ended up being possessed by some dude called the Source, who was supposed to be the leader of some daemonic realm. The sisters killed the Source again, along with Turner. Who came back from the dead a few months later with more powers. In fact, he's supposed to be more powerful than ever. My friend didn't know whether he's more powerful than the Halliwell kid. I mean, you."

Recalling the dark-haired man or daemon and how he had easily blocked her electrokinetic attacks, Daley suspected that she might have stolen powers from the wrong person. "You know anything else about him?"

"He's supposed to be half-daemon/half-mortal," Marc added. "Turns out he and Phoebe Halliwell had been married for a few months. And he's now involved with another witch. That red-haired cop, Olivia McNeill."

Daley sighed. "That's just great. No wonder I can't teleport inside the Halliwell house. I bet he must have cast some protection ward over the damn place."

Marc took another sip of his drink. "One last thing . . . he's a close friend of Andre Morrell."

"So, how do you plan to deal with him?" Clive asked.

Another sigh left Daley's mouth, as poured herself a glass of ginger ale. "One problem at a time. I still need to get near Wyatt Halliwell and kill him. Does anyone . . ." She paused, as an idea came to her.

"Shape shift," a voice inside her head suggested. "Shape shift into one of the Charmed Ones. Only then you will get inside the house and near the boy."

Daley cried out, "Of course! Why didn't I think of that before?"

Marc stared at her. "Of course . . . what?"

"I've figured out how to get close to Wyatt." Excited over her new idea, Daley continued, "Shape shift. All I have to do is do is glamour. Shape shift into one of the sisters and enter the house. I wouldn't have to worry about a protection ward."

"And which sister do you plan to impersonate?" Marc asked. "What if she shows up before you can get rid of the kid?"

Daley stared at her two companions. "Well, Clive is going to make sure that she doesn't."

"Huh?" Clive stared at his boss.

"You, Angela and Ramon are going to snatch one of the Halliwells. Tomorrow is Saturday. They're not going to stay inside that house forever. Grab her in some secluded spot and take her to the old lab on Kearny Street. Drug her, if you have to. Once I kill Wyatt, you can let her go." Then another idea came to Daley. "Or better yet, kill her. I don't care."

Marc and Clive exchanged questioning looks. The latter asked, "Which Halliwell do I grab?"

Clive's question reverberated within Daley's mind for a few seconds. Then her inner voice spoke again. She replied, "Phoebe Halliwell. I hear that she sometimes work on Saturdays. She's not a teleporter, like the youngest. And I'm sure that Piper will be at home with Wyatt. By the way, Phoebe knows martial arts, so be careful."

"No problem," Clive said. "I know it, myself. And I don't think she'll be in a position to fight back, for what I have in mind for her." He paused. "Where do you want us to meet you?"

Daley strolled toward an empty chair near the sofa and sat down. "The BAY-MIRROR. I'll call you first . . . just to make sure that she'll be there. And if she does show up, make sure that someone is there to keep an eye on her, so that he or she can tell us when she's leaving."

Marc asked, "And what if she doesn't leave the house?"

"Then I'll use her boyfriend to make sure that he does." Daley sank into the chair, as she took a sip of her drink. "And once Clive grabs her, I'll simply take her place."

END OF PART XVI 


	17. Part XVII

"THE POWER OF ONE" by RFK

PART XVII

The four people materialized in the hallway, outside Olivia's apartment. "Home sweet home," the redhead murmured, as she inserted her key into the apartment door's lock.

The moment Olivia opened the door, Andre grabbed his girlfriend's arm. "Hey Cecile, could we talk for a minute? Alone?"

Cecile stared at him. "Sure."

"Let's go outside." As the couple headed for the elevator, Andre glanced over his shoulder and saw Cole beamed out of the hallway. It never occurred to him to question why the half-demon had not followed Olivia inside her apartment.

The moment they entered the elevator, Cecile turned to Andre. "So, what do you want to talk about?"

"What we were discussing, last night," Andre replied. "About . . ." The doors slid open and two people entered the elevator. Unfortunately for Andre, they accompanied the couple all of the way to the ground floor. Once outside the apartment building, Andre led Cecile a few yards down the street.

Cecile said, "Okay, we're alone. What were you going to tell me?"

Taking a deep breath, Andre faced his girlfriend. "Remember what we were talking about, last night? About you wanting more from our relationship?"

A sigh left Cecile's mouth. "Yeah, I remember. Look, can you just forget what I had said? I've been doing a lot of thinking over the past three days, and I realize that I . . . I don't want to lose you." Her dark eyes bored into his. "I love you too much, Andre. And to be honest, I didn't really want to break up with you. But I was afraid that our relationship was going no where."

Andre contemplated Cecile's words for a stuck his hands into his jacket pockets and heaved a mournful sigh. "That's too bad."

"What do you mean?" Cecile frowned.

"Since you're okay with the way things are between us, I guess . . ." Andre paused dramatically.

"You guess what?"

Andre paused dramatically. Then he reached for the small velvet box inside his jacket pocket. "I guess I might as well return this . . ." He pulled out the box. ". . . engagement ring to Olivia's shop."

Cecile's eyes grew wide with shock. "Engage . . . Are you asking . . .?"

Andre held up his hand to silence her. "Before you say anything else, let me finish." He took a deep breath and snapped open the box. Inside sat the silver 17th century ring that he had purchased. "Cecile," he began, inciting a gasp from the priestess' mouth, ". . . uh, will you marry me?"

The priestess continued to stare at the ring. "Oh God! I . . . is this because you had found out that I . . .?"

"This has nothing to do with what you were planning to do," Andre firmly assured her. "I had been planning to propose for practically a month, now. I've just been too busy looking for the right ring. And I found it. Inside Olivia's new shop."

Cecile continued to stare at the ring with awe. "How long have they known about this? Olivia and Cole, I mean?"

"A few days." A slight dread crept into Andre's heart. He realized that Cecile had not answered. "Um, about my proposal . . ."

A wide smile curved Cecile's lips. "The answer is yes," she crowed. 

"Huh?"

Still smiling, Cecile threw her arms around Andre's neck and gave him a passionate kiss. "Yes, you big dummy! I'll marry you. Are you deaf, or what?"

Of course he had heard. But Andre also thought that his imagination had played a trick on him. He slowly allowed himself a wide smile, before returning Cecile's kiss with one just as passionate. By the time their lips had separated, both were breathing heavily. Then Andre removed the ring from the box and gently slid it upon one of Cecile's finger. "Don't worry," he said in a quiet voice. "I hear just fine." Despite the dim light from a nearby street light, Andre could see the happiness shining in Cecile's eyes. Her expression matched exactly how he felt.

-----------------------

"Is Wyatt asleep?" Leo asked his ex-wife.

Piper coolly replied. "Yeah. It took a while, but he finally fell asleep." She heaved a sigh and sat down in one of the kitchen chairs. "Is there anything else you need?"

"Yes, there is," Leo shot back. "Why didn't you tell me that you had hired a nanny for Wyatt?"

The oldest Charmed One gave her former husband a cold stare. "Why should I? You weren't around, Leo. Remember? You had decided to turn your back on your family, to pursue your . . . destiny. Why should I let you know what was going on? You gave up that right when you had decided to join the Elders Council."

"For God's sake, Piper! Not only am I Wyatt's father! I'm an Elder, too! This . . . what happened to him could have been prevented, if you had informed the Council about this Bakker woman you had hired!"

Rolling her eyes, Piper retorted, "Are you saying that I had to get permission from the Elders, before hiring someone to baby sit Wyatt? Whatever happened to free will?"

Leo shouted, "I didn't mean it . . ." He sighed and lowered his voice. "I didn't mean to say that only the Council can approve who will be Wyatt's nanny. But I'm part of the Council, Piper. You could have told me."

"This argument is going nowhere, Leo." Piper stood up and headed toward one of the cabinets. "Unless you have something else to say, I suggest you leave."

"Piper . . ." Leo hesitated. "Look, if you need a babysitter for Wyatt that badly, I'll do it. Maybe this will give me the opportunity to spend more time with him."

Although a retort had formed on her lips, Piper decided not to express it. She realized that she could not argue with Leo's suggestion. Granted, they could no longer share a bed . . . or a life together. At least this situation will not deprive Wyatt of a father. "Okay," she murmured. "Sounds fair. I'll probably need a babysitter for next weekend. That is . . . unless Phoebe and Paige are free." She paused before adding, "You better go."

"Piper . . ."

"Good-night, Leo."

The whitelighter-turned-Elder gave her a curt nod, before he orbed out of the kitchen. And out of her life for the umpteenth time. Piper sighed, as she struggled to hold back the tears.

------------------

Olivia heard the front door close. She walked into the living room and found Cecile grinning happily, while staring at her hand. "You're back." She stared at her friend's uber-happy expression. "What happened to you?"

"Huh?" Cecile glanced up.

"You look as if someone had slipped a happy pill in your drink." Olivia glanced at Cecile's hand and noticed a small, silver object gleaming from one finger. "Oh Goddess! Is that . . .?"

Cecile waved her hand in front of Olivia's face. "An engagement ring! Andre had just asked me to marry him!"

Olivia squealed with delight as she and Cecile enveloped each other into a bear hug. "Ohmigod!" Olivia said. "It's crazy. I've been expecting this ever since Andre first told me that he planned to propose. And yet . . . I don't know. It's still feels so unexpected."

"I can understand," Cecile commented. "Considering what's happened in the past two days. With that Bakker woman. We've all been distracted."

With a sigh, Olivia shook her head. "To be honest, I rather envy you."

"Getting engaged?" Cecile shrugged her shoulders. "Hey, it might happen to you, someday. Come to think of it," she paused, "it has happened. With Richard."

A bitter chuckle escaped from Olivia's mouth. "Yeah, and we all know how that ended. I guess that when it comes to the men in my life, I don't seem to have much luck. One boyfriend dumps me, one gets killed by my crazy aunt and the third is so traumatized by his divorce that he doesn't even want to think about another marriage."

"You don't know that," Cecile protested. "I doubt that Cole's feelings are permanent."

Again, Olivia sighed. "Look, I'm not eager to rush into marriage or anything like that. On the other hand, I wouldn't avoid it, either. I just don't want to go through with . . . that again."

Cecile demanded, "Go through with what?"

"The frustration of waiting for Cole to be willing to take our relationship another step," Olivia continued. "It was bad enough wondering if he ever wanted to be more than just friends. I got impatient and ended up flirting with Paul Margolin. With disastrous results."

"Be patient, cherie. That's all you can ever do."

Olivia rolled her eyes and caustically retorted, "Oh, you mean like you were with Andre?"

Cecile shot her a dark glare. "Well then, let me put it another way. At least try to be patient with Cole. Sooner or later, he'll get over his fears. After all, you did." Olivia glared at her. "Remember your break-up with Adrian Chambers in college? Took you quite a while to get over him."

"Please don't remind me of that bastard."

As she began to fiddle with her engagement ring, Cecile continued, "All I'm saying is . . . give Cole a chance. Don't make the same mistake that I nearly made. Okay?"

------------------

Phoebe glanced at the clock on the wall and sighed. It read one-thirty. In other words, it was time to cut her Saturday working day, short. She reluctantly collected her jacket, purse and briefcase and headed toward the door. As she opened it, she found her boyfriend and employer standing beyond the doorway. "Jason!"

The young billionaire gave her a dim smile. "Phoebe. Heading home? I'm surprised that you're even here. You usually don't work on Saturdays."

"Yeah, I uh . . . had some work to finish. So, I thought I might as well come in today and get it over with." She paused, desperately trying to avoid Jason's stare. "So, I haven't heard from you, since Thursday night."

Jason glanced away, as if he was too embarrassed to meet Phoebe's eyes. "Uh, I've been busy." Then he heaved a large sigh and faced the Charmed One. "And I guess I've been a little pissed off, as well."

"Jason, I told you there was a family emergency!"

"Phoebe, there always is a family emergency! Even Elise is beginning to complain about them!"

Oh God! "What do you . . .?" Frustrated, Phoebe broke off, as she tried to gather her senses. "Are you saying that I'm not entitled to family emergencies?"

"Phoebe, you and Paige had disappeared from the party for over two hours," Jason retorted sharply. "Without saying a word to me! I had to find out about your 'little emergency' from Jack McNeill!"

Phoebe protested, "But it was a family emergency! Wyatt . . ."

". . . who has a babysitter. A babysitter who could have dealt with whatever emergency that popped up!" Jason finished. "Or called Piper."

Again, Phoebe glanced at the clock. One thirty-six. "Jason, it was a family emergency. I'm sorry that I forgot to tell you beforehand, but we . . . Paige and I were thinking of Wyatt. What else can I say?"

A brief pause followed before Jason hung his head down low and murmured, "You can say that you'll accompany me to Hong Kong. And stay with me, for a while."

"Huh?"

Jason continued, "I'll be returning to Hong Kong, early next month. I should be back at least after the New Year. I thought . . . well, that this time you would stay with me."

The proposal took Phoebe by surprise. Then again, she should have known better. Jason had asked her this very same question about six months ago. Then, she had rejected his offer and ended up enduring a four-month separation from him. And although she hated the idea of being apart from Jason for so long, she had family obligations to deal with. Namely the Power of Three.

"I . . ." Phoebe glanced into Jason's eyes and realized that she did not have the heart to reject his offer. "I'll think about it," she finally said.

Disappointment flickered in his eyes. "In other words - no. Right?"

Phoebe gently cupped Jason's jaw. "In other words . . . no, for now. But I'm seriously thinking about changing my mind."

A wry smile twisted Jason's mouth. "Okay. I guess that'll have to do. At least for now." He turned away and paused. "At least let me keep that date we had made for tonight."

"Could we change it to tomorrow night?" Phoebe planted a light kiss on his cheek. "I think I might catch up on my sleep, tonight." Jason nodded and walked away.

Then Phoebe took a deep breath, and finally left her office. She headed toward the elevator. When she finally reached the underground parking lot, her eyes scanned the area for any strangers. The only people she saw were two employees from the Sports Department.

Phoebe then proceeded across the parking lot and toward her car. Upon reaching the latter, she unlocked the driver's door, opened it and dumped her belongings inside. Before she could climb into the driver's seat, the Charmed One felt a sharp prick on the side of her neck. Phoebe fervently groped her neck and pulled out a small dart. As everything faded to black, it flashed through her mind that Daley Bakker had actually fallen for Andre's trap.

END OF PART XVII 


	18. Part XVIII

"THE POWER OF ONE" by RFK

PART XVIII

Inside the BAY-MIRROR's parking lot, the four people approached the figure sprawled on the ground. Daley glanced down at the fallen witch. "Step one completed," she noted with an air of satisfaction.

One of her lieutenants - Clive - said to the remaining two people nearby, "Ramon, Angela . . . pick her up." He asked Daley, "How long do we have to hold the witch?"

Daley sighed. "Don't bother to wait. I'll send all of you to the factory, where you can kill her. Dump her body in the bay." Instead of leaving, Clive and the other two hesitated. "What are you waiting for?"

"You don't mind giving us a lift, do you?" Clive asked.

"Oh. Yeah." Daley waved her hand and the others orbed out of the parking lot.

Then the sorceress chanted a brief spell. Within seconds, she transformed into the middle Halliwell sister. Daley then checked her appearance with a small, compact mirror. Satisfied by the results, she climbed into the witch's car and drove away.

---------

The two figures emerged from behind a large Cadillac. "Ugh," Harry commented, grimacing at the vehicle. "I didn't realize that gas guzzlers were still popular with some people." He turned to Paige. "Think you can track Phoebe?"

The Charmed One sighed. "Maybe. This is more Leo's gig. But I'll give it a shot." Paige closed her eyes for a few seconds. She sensed . . . nothing. Then she took a deep breath and tried again. Finally, a sense of her sister's presence hit her subconscious. "Found her. Let's go."

The young couple held hands, before Paige orbed them out of the parking lot. Seconds later, they appeared in the middle of a half-deserted office, where they found an unconscious Phoebe stretched out on a black leather divan. A man and a woman flanked her. A second man with light brown skin stood near a desk . . . holding a needle.

The woman, who wore long braids to her shoulders, glanced up. "Clive! We've got company!" Then she flung her hands out, while screaming some word that Paige did not understand. Seconds later, the couple found themselves flung against a wall.

As the pair struggled to their feet, Paige murmured, "Okay, I've had enough." She disappeared from Harry's side and reappeared beside the woman. Then she caught the latter off guard with a punch to the jaw. The woman lay sprawled on the floor.

The woman's companion regarded Paige in a threatening manner, as an energy ball formed in his hand. To the Charmed One's surprise, Harry cried out, "Pain!" The energy ball disappeared, as the man clutched his head. Screaming in agony. He then dropped to the floor, unconscious.

Then the Charmed One orbed the needle out of the second man's grasp. Before she could do anything further, the needle dropped out of her hand, as someone's foot kicked her in the back. Paige fell forward and ended up sprawled over Phoebe's unconscious form. She barely heard Harry call out her name. A hand - apparently belonging to the woman she had just punched - grabbed hold of her hair and jerked her bodily to her feet.

"Ow!" Paige cried, before she orbed out of the woman's grasp. She reappeared behind the woman, tapped the latter's shoulder and knocked the woman unconscious with two punches. 

The second man waved his hand and sent Paige flying back across Phoebe's body. He turned to Harry, but with a series of kick, the latter sent the man reeling to the floor. The man reached out for the needle and it flew into his grasp. He telekinetically sent it flying toward Harry, but the latter muttered a word, "Gwyro!" and the needle zipped back toward the man . . . before its tip slid into his flesh. 

Paige slid off of Phoebe's body. Along with an equally fascinated Harry, she watched the man's eyes widened in horror at the sight of the needle protruding from his arm. Then his body convulsed for a few seconds and fell into a heap upon the floor. "What the hell was in that needle?" Paige demanded.

Heaving a sigh, Harry replied, "Who knows? Maybe an overdose of Ms. Bakker's Methacathinone. Right now, let's grab Phoebe and get the hell out of here." He unfastened the middle sister's bonds and slung her over his shoulder. "Okay Scotty, beam us up."

Paige shot the red-haired witch a dark glare. Then she grabbed his forearm and orbed all three of them out of the office.

---------

Daley guided Phoebe Halliwell's convertible into the family's driveway. She checked the rear-view mirror and noted with satisfaction, her exact resemblance to the columnist/witch. She took a deep breath, grabbed the witch's belongings and climbed out of the vehicle. Then she made her way to the manor's front door. 

For nearly a minute, Daley fumbled with the witch's keys to find the right one to open the door. After she finally managed to open the manor, she closed the door with a relieved sigh. Piper's voice cried out, "Paige? Phoebe? Is that you?"

Daley hesitated before she responded, "It's me, Piper! Phoebe!" Then she recalled the youngest sister. "Paige isn't home, yet?"

Piper emerged from the Solarium. "No, not yet." The oldest sister continued, "I guess that Paige is still at the shop, trying to find that last ingredient for the potion."

Potion? Piper's words piqued Daley's curiosity. "You . . . uh, really think that this . . . potion will work?"

Doubt seemed to creep into Piper's eyes. "I'm not sure. But since it had worked with Barbas, last year, I'm sure that it'll work on Don . . . I mean, Daley Bakker." She shook her head. "God, I keep forgetting that Donna isn't her real name."

"Yeah." Daley gave a quick, nervous laugh. Inwardly, she could not help but wonder how they had learned her real name. Then she heard a baby's cry and the more, important matter returned to her attention. Trying to sound as casual as possible, Daley asked, "Something wrong with Wyatt?"

A sigh left Piper's mouth. "Oh . . . no. It's the same problem, as usual. Wyatt's been a little fretful, ever since that bitch took his powers. I guess that he's lost a bit of himself."

At that moment, Daley felt sorely tempted to kill the Charmed One for the remark. And she would have, if the sound of an infant's cries had not filled the house. Wyatt.

Piper turned to the disguised sorceress. "Listen Pheebs, could you look in on Wyatt for me? I want to start preparing this potion. He's in the Solarium."

All thoughts of killing Piper vanished from Daley's mind. Opportunity had knocked on her door. The sorceress gave the Charmed One her most supportive smile. "Sure honey. I'd love to." The moment Piper turned away, Daley headed toward Wyatt's cries.

The red-faced infant sat inside his crib, ignoring a red butterfly that fluttered around his head. Daley allowed herself a brief smile, as she approached the infant. She transformed back to her former self. "Hello Wyatt," she cooed, while removing a hypodermic needle from her jacket pocket. Then she picked up the squalling infant. "Time for us to finish our little business together." 

Using her newly acquired telekinesis, Daley removed the needle's plastic cover.  
Before she could slip the needle into the child's flesh, four people teleported into the room - Piper, Cecile Dubois, Andre Morrell and the half-daemon, Cole Turner. "I'll take Wyatt, thank you very much," the daemon commented. Daley gasped as he beamed the infant out of her arms and into his own. Angry at being foiled again, the sorceress lost her temper.

----------

The sorceress' eyes turned red. "Son-of-a-bitch!" she hissed, as a stream of red heat poured from her eyes and beamed toward Cole. The latter immediately raised one hand and deflected Daley Bakker's attack toward her. She orbed away just in time and the heat beam blew a hole in the wall.

"Good grief!" Andre cried. "Was that one of Wyatt's powers?"

Daley reappeared beside Piper and pointed a hypodermic needle at the latter's throat. "No, it's mine! Now, put the baby on the sofa." She glared at Cole. "Either do it now or she's dead!" Cole hesitated. "I mean it!"

"Do you?" the half-demon coolly murmured.

Piper cried, "Don't do it, Cole! Don't hand Wyatt over to her! I'd rather die first!" In a swift motion, she yanked the amulet from around Daley's neck and tossed it on the floor. Before the sorceress could plunge the needle into her neck, Cole teleported Piper out of harm's way and by his side. He handed Wyatt over to her.

Daley waved her hand, as she cried out, "Antoine! Remy!" Two men appeared by her side. She called out more names and four other people appeared - two men and two women. "You know what to do!" she ordered. "Leave the daemon to me!"

Before Cole knew what was happening, the sorceress' people attacked. He wanted to help the others, but he had his own problems dealing with he. As he deflected one of her energy balls, he felt sure that without the amulet, he would easily defeat her. He discovered that he had underestimated the sorceress' ability to utilize Wyatt's teleportation power. The woman moved so fast that she managed to strike his shoulder with a fireball just seconds after she had orbed behind him. In retaliation, Cole used his telekinesis to send her body slamming against the wall.

The half-demon glanced at his companions and saw Andre engaged in hand-to-hand combat with one of Daley Bakker's companions. The houngan finally subdued the man with a magical binding ring around the latter's body. Cecile managed to send two of the sorceress' companions on their knees and crying in pain. One of them dropped to the floor with a brain aneurysm. Piper froze one of the females and placed Wyatt in the crib. Before she could freeze another minion, the latter muttered a chant and a large bolt of electricity shot from one of his hands and toward the Charmed One. Cole quickly reversed the positions of those concerned and the young bokor ended up being struck by lighting.

Daley Bakker eyed her fallen companions anxiously. She struggled to her feet, glared at Cole and began to chant in the Fon language. At that moment, a red butterfly hovered beside her head. Cole spotted it and waved his hand - transforming the butterfly into Olivia. The red-haired witch snatched a knife from one of the sorceress' henchmen using telekinesis. Before Daley could react, Olivia slashed her side with the knife, and tossed the latter to Cecile. "Use it!" she cried to the mambo.

An enraged sorceress cried out in pain, before she flung an energy ball at Olivia. The latter quickly raised her hands and cried out, "Gwyra aes!" A shield immediately materialized before the witch. As the energy ball struck the shield, its force and power sent Olivia flying back against the sofa.

Cecile removed a large cloth that covered the coffee table, revealing a Vodoun altar. A strand of Wyatt's hair wrapped with bloodroot sat in one small bowl. The mambo allowed a few drops of the sorceress' blood into another bowl. She began to chant in Fon, "Oh Legba, God of the spiritual crossroads! Re-open the pathway first done so by Kalfu on the eve of the moon's first quarter. Please reverse the spell and return to this child, his powers previously stolen. In your name, I beseech you!"

The sorceress gripped her side and cried out, "No!" But it was too late. A beam of light emitted from her body and shot straight up to the roof. It eventually formed an arch, before it finally settled upon Wyatt, who squirmed inside the crib. The Bakker woman glared at Cecile. "You bitch!"

One man grabbed the beleaguered sorceress' arm. "Daley! We have to leave! Now!" He muttered a quick chant and disappeared. Along with Daley Bakker.

"Shit!" Cole exclaimed. "I didn't think they would . . ." At that moment, the rest of the sorceress' companions disappeared.

Andre shook his head in self-disgust. "I should have known that would happen. One of them must be a teleporter. Or used a teleportation spell."

Piper anxiously glanced at Cole. "Can't you get them back?"

"Sure," the half-demon replied. He lifted his hand.

Cecile stopped him. "Don't bother. They're gone. Wyatt's safe and he has his powers back. End of story."

"But we can't let them get away!" the Charmed One cried.

A sigh left Cecile's mouth. "What are we going to do, Piper? Kill them the moment Cole returns them? Two of them are already dead, thanks to Cole and me."

"I could arrest Ms. Bakker for breaking and entering," Olivia commented. "Or the attempted murder of a nine month-old infant. Only the murder weapon is missing and I can't very well tell my captain what really happened."

Frustration tightened Piper's lips. "Fine. I get the message," she growled. "I just can't stand that the bitch got away." Her expression then softened, as she gazed upon her son. "At least Wyatt is safe. And back to normal."

"That's good to hear," Cole commented. "Because after that little battle, I need to rest." He glanced at his right shoulder. The wound left by the fireball had completely healed. "By the way, I didn't realize that Wyatt was a latent fire starter. Or an electrokinetic."

Piper continued to stare at her son. "Yeah, it is a bit of a shock." She shook her head and sighed. "Boy! Wait until Leo hears about this."

END OF PART XVIII

NOTE: Yes, I know. Cecile's spell sounded so crappy. What can I say? I'm not very good at rhymes. 


	19. Part XIX

"THE POWER OF ONE" by RFK

PART XIX

Andre and Cole finally returned to the latter's penthouse after spending nearly six hours at the Halliwells, dealing with the aftermath of Daley Bakker's attack. "This has sure been an interesting week," the houngan commented, as he flopped down on the sofa. "Especially after getting engaged through difficult circumstances and dealing with a power hungry bokor." He glanced at his friend, who seemed to be heading toward the kitchen. "Why is it that every time I'm in this town, we end up battling some kind of supernatural evil? First, it was that succubus who was after Bruce . . . and now this."

"It's only been twice," Cole said from the kitchen.

"Actually, it's been more than twice." Andre glanced down at his arm and noticed a long cut that nearly reached the elbow. "Before we had ran into each other again, Cecile, Olivia, Richard and I had helped Nathalie Green deal with some rather unpleasant fairies who had snatched a child and left a changeling in his place." Cole returned to the living room and stared at him. "Yeah, I know. Don't ask. It was a crazy moment."

Cole's glance dropped to Andre's wounded arm. "What happened?" he asked.

Andre sighed. "It's nothing. Some guy I was fighting managed to cut me with a knife, before I kicked his ass."

"I've got some bandages and alcohol in the night stand, next to my bed," Cole suggested.

The houngan stared at him. "Why would you need that?"

Red-faced, the half-demon replied, "For Olivia. I bought it for her." Andre's stare remained relentless. "In case she needed it."

Andre shot his friend a knowing smile and headed for the latter's bedroom. He opened the top drawer of the nightstand, next to Cole's large bed. Not only did he find the material needed for his wound, he found something else. Buried underneath some bandages, envelopes and sheets of paper, sat a small, dark-green velvet box. Andre realized that it could only mean one thing. He opened the box and found a small, silver ring with a Celtic heart knot design that surrounded a small emerald inside.

Upon returning to the living room, Andre held up the box. "Hey, what's this?"

Cole stared at the box and panic filled his eyes. "Uh . . . nothing. That's a . . . what are you doing . . .?"

"I found it inside your night stand," Andre replied. "With the bandages." He glanced at the box. "Is this what I think it is? An engagement ring?"

Looking slightly annoyed, Cole snatched the box from Andre's grasp. "It's nothing!" he growled.

"It's an engagement ring, isn't it?" Andre insisted. "How long have you had it?"

Cole sighed in defeat. "Since you're going to persist, I might as well tell you. I had bought it, about two months ago. Not long after my . . . that little summer romance with Phoebe. I was so relieved to be back with Olivia that I bought it during a trip to see my uncle in Dublin. It's just that I've been waiting . . ."

"Waiting for what? The perfect time to ask her?" Andre's tone expressed doubt at Cole's explanation. "Man, if you want to marry that woman so badly, 'now' is the perfect time to propose. Before you wait too long. You don't want to repeat my mistake."

The half-demon plopped down in the nearest chair and sighed for the second time. "I guess you're right. It's just . . . I don't know. What if she doesn't want to marry me? What if we do get married and we end up repeating what happened between Phoebe and me?"

"I don't know, man. But the only way to find out is to take the plunge." Andre began to tend his wound. "That's all I can say." Cole nodded.

It struck Andre odd that a seemingly self-assured person like Cole could be so wracked with doubt. Either the half-demon had ruthlessly hidden his doubts for a long time. Or this surprisingly insecure behavior was the result of Cole's relationship with the Halliwells. If the latter happened to be true, Andre found it sad.

----------

A surprise visitor appeared on the Halliwell stoop, when Phoebe opened the front door, the following morning. Anxiety fluttered within her heart. "Jason! What are you doing here?"

The billionaire returned her greeting with a wan smile. "Hey Phoebe. I . . . uh, had called last night, but Piper told me that you had went to bed. That you weren't feeling well."

In other words, Piper had failed to mention Jason's call. Phoebe mentally castigated her older sister. She returned her boyfriend's smile. "Yeah, I had a bad headache, yesterday." Which was not far from the truth. She stepped aside. "Why don't you come in?"

Jason shook his head. "No, I . . . let's take a walk, instead."

Phoebe closed the door behind her and followed her boyfriend toward the sidewalk. The couple proceeded to stroll up the street. The Charmed One wrapped her arms around herself to ward off the chill. She had forgotten to bring a jacket or sweater. "I know you're a little upset over what happened at the McNeills' party . . ." she began.

"No . . . I'm not. Really." Jason removed his jacket and draped it over Phoebe's shoulders. "I understand. You had another family emergency. Wyatt was sick. Or something like that. Right?" His cool tone did not appease Phoebe's anxiety.

Then a frustrated sigh left the Charmed One's mouth. "Actually, he was sick, Jason. I get the feeling that you don't believe me."

"I believe you, Phoebe," Jason shot back. "I just don't see why you and Paige had to disappear without at least a word. I had to find out that you were gone from Gwen McNeill. It's just . . . what happened to Wyatt's babysitter? Why didn't she call Piper?"

Again, Phoebe sighed. "She . . . uh, she did. Okay? Piper called us. And since we were concerned . . . we left. We were only gone for a few hours. Two, at least. Is that such a crime?"

Jason closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "No, Phoebe. It's not a crime. It's just . . ." He paused in his tracks, causing Phoebe to do the same. Then he shook his head. "Never mind." He resumed walking.

Phoebe rushed to keep up with him. "Never mind . . . what? Jason!"

Once more, Jason stopped. He turned to place his hands on Phoebe's shoulders. "Listen . . . Phoebe, have you thought about what I had asked? Returning to Hong Kong with me?"

"Huh?" Phoebe's eyes began to blink rapidly. She had forgotten about Jason's Hong Kong proposal.

The billionaire continued, "I'll be heading back, early next month. And I want you to come with me. You can still work on your column from there. I'll have Elise send you your letters."

Phoebe felt herself torn by Jason's request. A part of her longed to escape her magic-riddled life and enjoy a solitary one with Jason - especially in an exotic locale like Hong Kong. However, the idea of being away from her family for the second time in her life frightened her. Phoebe could not imagine being away from the Power of Three. "Jason, I . . ."

"Look, I won't pressure you for an answer. At least not yet," Jason said, interrupting. "I won't be leaving until the first week of December. So, could you at least let me know by Thanksgiving?"

A car whizzed by, as Phoebe contemplated an answer. Common sense told her to immediately reject Jason's offer. And yet . . . she did not possess the heart to say no. "I'll think about it," she finally said in a soft voice.

Jason smiled, as he enveloped her into a tight hug.

------------

Olivia looked upon her friends with a smile, as Cecile and Andre discussed their engagement, inside the McNeills' drawing-room. Her parents had decided to hold a private celebration dinner for the newly engaged couple. Among those invited were the Halliwells. The Morrises had to cancel, due to family obligations.

"I can't believe it!" Paige declared happily, after giving Cecile a peck on the cheek. "Engaged! When will the happy event be?"

Cecile and Andre exchanged a brief glance, before the latter replied, "Two months from now. Mid or late January."

"In New Orleans?"

Barbara grinned sardonically at her employee. "If you're worried about not being able to attend, Paige, don't. I'm sure that Maddy won't mind tending the store . . . while we're gone."

"Cool!" Paige responded with a smile.

Olivia noticed the frown on Phoebe's face. "Uh . . . Paige?" the middle Charmed One began. "What about the Power of Three? Don't forget that we . . ."

"Oh, c'mon Pheebs! You've got to be kidding!" Paige retorted. "You and Piper did just fine, while I was in Scotland, last summer. And don't forget that week you were in Chicago."

"Paige . . ."

Andre interrupted, "Hey, you're all invited to the wedding. All three of you."

A satisfied smile appeared on Piper's face. "Hmmm, a trip to New Orleans sounds nice."

Cecile added, "It's a great food town. You'll love it."

"I had managed to gain ten pounds during my last trip there," Olivia's mother added. She sighed and shook her head. "The food was worth every pound. I even managed to add a few local dishes to the menu at Morgan's."

Paige's grin stretched wider. "This trip is looking better, every moment. So, what exactly happens in a Vodoun wedding? Is it similar to . . .?"

The doorbell rang. A few minutes later, Davies returned with Chris Perry in tow. Piper frowned at the whitelighter. "What are you doing here? And why did you ring the doorbell?"

"I couldn't orb into the house," Chris replied. From the corner of her eye, Olivia noted the smirk on Harry's face. "And I just came from the Elders' Council. They're concerned about Whatshername - Daley Bakker. And this Anansi Order. They . . . um, they think you should look into it."

Piper scowled. "And do what? Vanquish them? They're humans. Unless they're threatening our lives, there's nothing we can do about them."

"Well, didn't the Bakker woman hire a demon to kill you?"

A slight cough from Cole, interrupted the conversation between the witch and the whitelighter. "Uh, not exactly."

Everyone stared at the half-demon. "What do you mean?" Jack McNeill demanded.

Both Cole and Andre revealed details of their visit to the home of Esmeralda Ross, in Santa Fe. The two friends added the stunning news that neither Daley Bakker or any other demon had hired Nairn to attack Piper and Wyatt."

"Then, who hid hired this Nairn?" Olivia's grandmother demanded.

Cole sighed. "I have no idea. Someone killed her with an arrow, before she say anything further."

"Sounds like a darklighter," Phoebe suggested.

Andre naysayed the idea. "This Ross woman told us that Nairn's client wanted Wyatt dead . . . but Piper alive. Why would anyone hire a darklighter to kill a witch, but spare a half-witch/half-whitelighter?"

"Well, if this Nairn was supposed to spare me, he didn't exactly try to live up to his contract," Piper muttered.

Chris added, "It doesn't matter. The Elders want this order vanquished. Before they can go after Wyatt's powers, again."

"But the Anansi Order didn't go after Wyatt's powers," Olivia corrected. "Only Daley Bakker. And she had failed to keep them. What's the point in going after them now?"

Her father spoke up, taking the others by surprise. "Because the Elders are idiots and have no idea with whom they're sending Piper and her sisters up against." His voice dripped with sarcasm. "I've heard about the Anansi Order. Even before we had all met Andre. The Order been around for a very long time. And its members are very powerful and very talented sorcerers and sorceresses. I just can't believe that Natalia Stepanova and Barbara deVilliers would consent to such an idiotic assignment." He gave Chris a thoughtful stare. "Whose idea was this . . . to go after the Anansi members?"

Chris squirmed with discomfort. "I don't know if I should . . ."

"Who?" Jack insisted.

After another pause, Chris finally answered, "I think it was Elder Gideon's idea. He, uh . . ."

"Oh God!" Cole groaned. "Not that bastard! Why am I not surprised?" Andre regarded him questioningly. "He, Phoebe and I had performed a little task regarding the Erebor medallions, last summer. A real asshole."

Chris protested, "Hey! You're talking about an Elder."

"So?" Cole gave the young whitelighter a cool stare. "What are you . . . a fan of his?"

His face now red with embarrassment, Chris shook his head. "Never mind." He turned to Andre. "Could you provide us some information on this Anansi Order?"

Andre frowned at him. "You're really serious about this, aren't you?"

"I'm not," Piper said. Everyone stared at her. "Look, I know I had first considered going after this Anansi Order or whatever, but I've changed my mind. I really don't see why we have to go after these guys. Wyatt is safe . . . and everything is back to normal. These are not demons we're talking about. And Olivia now has that dominion spirit's medallion, locked in a safe place. What's the big deal? Why are the Elders so interested in vanquishing them?"

Jack replied sarcastically, "Because a member of the order - namely Ms. Bakker - had managed to become the only person to successfully steal Wyatt's powers. And that makes the Elders nervous." He said to the three sisters. "If I were you, I wouldn't go after them. There's an old saying about how defense is the best offense. Prepare yourselves, in case this Bakker woman or any of her . . . colleagues decides to go after Wyatt, again. See if you can find anymore information about them, if you have to. But I wouldn't bother going after them. Right now, you have no idea of what you might face."

Chris retorted, "What are you talking about? They went up against the Source!"

"And barely made it, alive," Cole murmured. "Even the Source knew better than to cause trouble with the Anansi Order."

Andre added, "Look, it's been over four years, since I worked for Victor Lacroix. I was never a member of the order. And the information I have on them is outdated. Hell, Olivia and Cole know about as much as I do about them. If you want my opinion, I suggest that you all do yourselves a favor and take Mr. McNeill's advice."

In the end, Jack and Andre's arguments won over the Charmed Ones. Except for Phoebe. Like Chris, she wanted to deal with Daley Bakker and the Anansi Order. But Piper and Paige voted against her, deeming it wiser to prepare for any future shenanigans by the sorceress. As the conversation returned to Cecile and Andre's upcoming wedding, the whitelighter heaved a frustrated sigh and bid the others, good-bye.

END OF PART XIX

NOTE: The end is very near. 


	20. Epilogue

"THE POWER OF ONE" by RFK

EPILOGUE

Following her failure to kill Wyatt Halliwell and maintain possession of his powers, Daley Bakker and her surviving followers had made their way south to Los Angeles. There, they tended their wounds - and egos - at a house located in Brentwood, an exclusive suburb, just west of the metropolis. The sorceress had purchased the house as a sanctuary from the law, four years ago.

Someone knocked on the study's door. Daley looked up from the club soda she was nursing, as Marc entered. "You have a guest. It's Mr. Dagnabi."

Daley immediately placed her drink on the desk and stood up. She recognized the name of William Dagnabi, the Nigerian-born bokor, who led the Anansi Order. "Send him in."

Seconds later, Marc ushered in a tall, lanky African male in his early 50s, with thin, graying hair, hawk-like features and a pair of dark-brown eyes. "Miss Bakker," he said in a soft, West African accent. "It is good to see you looking well."

"Thank you, Mr. Dagnabi." Daley bowed to her leader. "What brings you here to California?"

Mr. Dagnabi sat down in one of the chairs that faced Daley's desk. "To see you, of course. I heard about your recent profits. Sixty-three million U.S. dollars. Very impressive."

Daley smiled graciously. "Thank you, sir. Um, would you like a drink? I'm having club soda."

The bokor shook his head. "Thank you, but no. I just ate dinner. I . . ." He began to pick imaginary lint from his hand-tailored jacket. "I also learned about your experience with a certain group of witches in San Francisco. Along with a mambo, a houngan and a half-daemon."

Panic mingled with surprise with Daley. "Uh . . . how did you . . .?"

"Visions, Miss Bakker," Dagnabi coolly replied. "The water element can be very useful in viewing the future." He paused. "And the past. I used the chalise from my own altar."

Daley struggled to remain calm. "Mr. Dagnabi, I can assure you that I had no intention of using the boy's powers against the Order. Or you."

"Really?" Dagnabi looked slightly disappointed. "I would have tried." What Daley would describe as a crocodile smile curved the bokor's lips. "Perhaps I'm just a little more ruthless than you."

The sorceress smiled nervously and murmured, "Perhaps."

Dagnabi continued, "The reason I came to see you is I believe that you are the right person for my new project."

"What new project?"

The bokor paused. "Have you ever heard of an old, legendary bokor named . . . Dako?" Dagnabi then revealed to Daley about his attempt to revive the spirit of an eighteenth-century sorcerer named Dako. After raising said spirit and placing it inside an old urn, Mr. Dagnabi had shipped the urn to a warlock in San Francisco named Edward Crozat. "My friend, Edward, wanted to use Dako's spirit to get revenge against the witches and daemon who had wiped out his kinsmen. The very group of people with whom you had recent troubles. Alas," Dagnabi sighed, they not only killed Edward and his remaining cousins, the mambo you had faced, also vanquished Dako's spirit back to the Underworld, as well."

Daley demanded, "And you need me to do . . . what?"

Wearing a cryptic smile, the bokor leaned back against his chair. "Well, Miss Bakker, I plan to resurrect Dako."

"You mean his spirit?" Daley said with a frown.

Dagnabi's eyes glittered. "I mean . . . Dako. In the flesh. And after his resurrection, he will unleash his power upon the magical world, making the Anansi Order more powerful than ever."

Daley shook his head. "But what does this have to do with me?"

"Let's just say that my plan will give both you and Dako a chance for revenge against your former acquaintances in San Francisco." The bokor leaned forward. "Are you interested?"

Still smarting from the magical disaster in San Francisco, Daley contemplated William Dagnabi's plan to resurrect a powerful, 200 year-old bokor. It seemed like the perfect way to get back at those who had thwarted her own plans. Was she interested? She smiled at her guest. "Yes sir. I definitely am."

-----------

The four people returned to the apartment building on Fillmore, following the end of the McNeill dinner party. The moment they materialized in front of Olivia's apartment, Cecile and Andre exchanged a brief, uneasy look. One that Cole had noticed. "Something wrong?" he asked.

Andre coughed slightly. "No. It's nothing. Well . . ." Again, he and Cecile exchanged a look. Then, "Would you two mind if Cecile and I were alone, tonight? We, uh . . ."

". . . want to celebrate," Cecile finished. She looked a lot less embarrassed than her fiancé. "Our engagement. Alone."

Cole got the message. Apparently, so did Olivia. She smiled at the couple and said, "I don't mind staying with Cole, tonight." She shot a blank glance at the half-demon. "If he doesn't mind."

"I don't," Cole quietly added.

Olivia nodded. "Okay. Then all I need are my PJs and clothes for tomorrow." She smiled at the engaged couple. "And then Cole and I will leave you two lovebirds, alone."

Twenty minutes later, Cole ushered the redhead inside his penthouse. She carried a tote bag that included everything she needed for tonight and tomorrow. "I have two guest rooms," Cole said, as he escorted Olivia to one of them. "Since Andre has been staying in the other room, I thought you might prefer this one." He had led her to a neat, sparsely furnished room with a large, Queen-size bed.

The red-haired witch gave him a long stare. "Why would I mind using Andre's room?"

"Because he's not the neatest person in the world," Cole coolly explained. "And unless you're prepared to clean up his mess just to get a night's sleep . . ."

Sighing, Olivia replied, "I get the message. I guess I'll be sleeping in here, tonight." She dumped her tote bag on the bed. "Well . . . good-night."

Cole, however, remained rooted where he stood. "Uh, would you like a late-night drink? Or a snack?" he asked.

"Like what?"

The half-demon closed his eyes and heaved a silent sigh. Apparently, Olivia had decided to be difficult. "I don't know, Olivia. Fillet Mignon? A shot of vodka? Do you want something before going to bed, or not?"

Coolly, Olivia pointed out that they had just eaten a large meal at her parents' home. "Now, why would I want or need a snack?"

Unable to hold his temper any longer, Cole snapped. "Because it would give us a chance to talk, goddamnit! There! I said it! I . . . want . . . to . . . talk!"

"Talk about what?"

It seemed a miracle to Cole that he has managed to refrain from incinerating his girlfriend. Instead, he hissed through clenched teeth, "Listen, I realize that I have somehow managed to piss you off. But could you please tell me how and stop playing these damn games?"

Without a hesitation, Olivia retorted, "I'm playing games? You can't even be honest about how you feel and you accuse me of playing games!"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You know damn well what I'm talking about!" Olivia glared at Cole. "You had criticized Andre's decision to propose to Cecile . . . all because of your own fears about getting married! Look, if you no longer like the idea of marriage, Cole . . . that's fine! But the next time, try not to project your fears upon someone else's plans!"

Cole shouted back, "I wasn't . . ." He took a deep breath, he added less heatedly, "All right! I'll be honest. I am afraid of marriage. There! Okay? I'm . . . I'm afraid of repeating the same marriage I had with Phoebe."

"Wha . . .?" Olivia shook her head and sighed. "Tell me Cole . . . what marriage?"

The half-demon frowned at her. "What the hell are you talking about? My marriage! To Phoebe!"

Olivia continued, "You had spent most of your entire marriage being possessed by the Source! And your last months in matrimony were either spent in the Wasteland, or legally separated from Phoebe. Like I said - what marriage?"

His girlfriend's words dampened Cole's emotional state. It had never occurred to him that he and Phoebe had never really shared a marriage together. Frowning, he continued, "But the wedding ceremony had been in our . . ."

"In your names?" Olivia finished. "Well, of course! After all, the Source had control of your body. Had stolen your identity. What did you expect?" Before Cole could respond, Olivia added, "Let's face it. You two really didn't have much of a marriage. And if you're worried that history will repeat itself . . . well, too bad. Because I can't guarantee that you'll never live happily ever after with some woman. Life is too uncertain to be certain about such a thing. But, if you still believe that marriage isn't for you . . ." She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I guess I can live with that."

A long pause followed before Cole murmured, "I never said that marriage wasn't for me."

"Huh?"

He spoke louder. "I never said that marriage wasn't for me. I only . . . agreed that I was afraid of repeating what happened between Phoebe and me. I mean . . . if I had really wanted to avoid another marriage, would I have bothered to buy an engagement ring?"

Olivia frowned. "What ring?"

Cole realized that he had revealed more than he had intended. "Uh . . . I had bought an engagement ring." He paused. "About two months ago."

Green eyes widened in shock. Then a pillow from the bed flew into one of Olivia's hands. A moment later, the redhead battered him with said pillow, until he found himself being knocked onto the bed. "What the hell?" the half-demon exclaimed.

"You are such an asshole!" Olivia cried angrily. She continued to rain more blows upon Cole's face with the pillow. "When exactly were you going to tell me about that damn ring?"

"I was going to tell you!" Cole protested. Then he ripped the pillow from Olivia's grasp and flung it on the floor. "Eventually. When the time was right."

Olivia seared him with a contemptuous glare. "The time? You . . . It's all about timing with you, isn't it? No wonder you're such a goddamn control freak!"

Cole sprung up from the bed to face Olivia. "What the hell are you talking about?" he retorted. "Since when have I ever tried to control you?"

Her face now inches from Cole, Olivia shot back, "Not me! The situation. You have this . . . You know, this reminds me of what Leo once told me . . . about your last encounter with the Thorn Brotherhood. After you had helped the Halliwells stop them from taking over this company, you decided to stick around your old comrades, instead of using common sense and returning to Phoebe and the others. I mean . . . why, Cole? Why would you do something so monumentally stupid?"

"Look, I was trying to ensure . . ." Cole began. Then he realized that he could not find an explanation that would sound sensible.

Olivia immediately caught on his confusion. "Ensure what? That the Brotherhood and the Source would no longer send zoltars after you? What on earth made you think you could control that situation?"

"I don't know!" Cole growled. And to his embarrassment, he really did not know.

"And now," Olivia continued, "I find out that you had bought an engagement ring - TWO MONTHS AGO! What were you waiting for? The right moment to propose? Or did fear allow you to use that excuse? If you wanted to marry me so damn badly, Cole Turner, why don't you just ASK?"

Cole leaned forward, and retorted through clenched teeth, "Fine! I'll ask! Will you marry me?"

"Yes!"

The moment Olivia spoke, her reply echoed within the room. The heat between the couple suddenly subsided. They stared at each other with stunned eyes. Cole finally rediscovered his voice. "Did you just . . . uh . . . did you just say yes?"

Olivia quietly murmured, "I guess so."

She guessed so? Cole shook the confusion from his head. Perhaps he had imagined things. "You . . . uh, you do realize that . . . I had just asked you to marry me. Right? I mean, if you want me to take it back . . ."

"No! I mean . . ." Olivia sighed. "I don't want you to take it back. Her face turned pink with embarrassment. "Unless you didn't mean it. Did you?"

Cole stared deeply into a pair of beautiful green eyes that regarded him with a mixture of anxiety, hope and longing. Eyes that perfectly expressed his current emotions. "Why would you think that? Of course I meant it. I'm in love with you." Then he gently lowered his mouth upon Olivia's and kissed her. Deeply. Her arms slid around his neck. He grabbed hold of her waist and drew her body closer to his. God, how he loved this woman so much! This crazy, exasperating and very fascinating woman. How could he have doubted her feelings for him?

As their kiss grew more intense, the couple began to explore each other's mouths with lips and tongues. "Cole," Olivia managed to gasp between kisses. "Cole, don't you . . . oh! Don't you think . . .?"

"Think what?" Cole murmured, before his mouth began to assault the tender curve of Olivia's neck.

The redhead moaned, "Oh God! Don't you think . . .?" More kisses followed. Finally, their mouths parted, much to Cole's dismay. In a breathless voice, Olivia said, "Don't you think . . . you should give me the ring? Before we celebrate any further?"

Cole considered his new fiancée's suggestion for a brief moment. Then, "I think the ring can wait."

"Co . . .!" Before Olivia could protest any further, Cole lowered his mouth upon hers, before they fell upon the bed. And continued their celebration.

THE END 


End file.
